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Press Kit

About FairVote Minnesota

FairVote Minnesota was founded in 1996 to work for better democracy through public education and advocacy. Our focus is on progressive voting systems that lead to greater competitiveness, better representation and more participation in elections. Read more here.

About Ranked Choice Voting

Ranked-Choice Voting (also known as Instant Runoff Voting) allows voters to rank candidates on the ballot according to their preference - 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc. Voters cast their vote for their favorite candidate knowing that if he or she doesn't gather enough votes to win, their vote will count toward their second choice. In a single-winner election, votes cast for the least popular candidate are not "wasted", but rather redistributed to more popular candidates, based on the voters' second choices, until one candidate wins with a majority of votes.

Read more here.

Read FAQ.

Download a printable overview.

RCV is currently in use in several local jurisdictions in six states: California, North Carolina, Maryland, Minnesota, Vermont, Washington. Exit polls show that voters overwhelmingly understand how to use RCV and prefer it over traditional two-round and plurality voting methods. It is also used for overseas and/or military voting in four states – Arkansas, Louisiana, Illinois and South Carolina – and in foreign democracies including Ireland and Australia. Nearly a dozen other U.S. cities are slated to use RCV in the near future. RCV is also used by hundreds of colleges and by many organizations, including the Motion Picture  Academy for the election of Best Picture.

Read more.

Minneapolis adopted RCV in 2006 and will begin using it in 2009 for municipal elections. FairVote Minnesota is partnering with the City of Minneapolis in providing education to voters and candidates. Click here for a full description of our efforts relating to the implementation of RCV in Minneapolis.

Some press coverage of the Minneapolis RCV Elections:

RCV is on the ballot for consideration by Saint Paul voters in November 2009. Click here for information about the campaign.

Some press coverage of the St. Paul Campaign:

George Latimer & Ellen Brown: Court decision cleared the way for a vote on IRV in Saint Paul

RCV is also being considered for the ballot in Duluth. Read more.

And legislation has been introduced by Senator Rest and Rep. Steve Simon to provide state standards for Ranked Choice Voting. Read more.

A lawsuit was mounted against the use of RCV in Minneapolis following its adoption in 2006. The case was dismissed in Hennepin County District Court in January 2009 and was appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court. In June, the Court issued a unanimous ruling upholding the constitunality of RCV. This opinion paved the way for RCV implementation in Minneapolis this year and for the ballot measure to move forward in Saint Paul. 

Courts in several states, including New York (Johnson v. New York), New Jersey (Orpen v. Watson), Massachusettes (Moore v. Elections Commission of Cambridge) and Michigan (Stephenson v. Ann Arbor Bd of Canvassers), have also upheld the constitutionality of RCV under the principle of “one person, one vote”.

News Releases

Major Media Coverage

 In Other Press

Link to RCV supporters in Minnesota.

Media Contact: Jeanne Massey, executive director, FairVote Minnesota. 763-807-2550, jeanne.massey@fairvotemn.org

Additional Media Resources:

  • Ellen Brown, FairVote Minnesota Board member and coordinator of the St. Paul Better Ballot Campaign, ellen@thebrownpartners.com; (651) 226-3692
  • Dakotah Rae Johnson, Coordinator Better Ballot Campaign Program, FairVote Minnesota. 715-379-2541, dakotah@fairvotemn.org
  • David Durenberger, chair, National Institute of Health Policy, ddurenberger@stthomas.edu
  • Minneapolis Councilmember Elizabeth Glidden. 612-396-2288 or 612-825-9136
  • Minneapolis Councilmember Ralph Remington. 612-695-2477
  • Prof. David Schultz, Hamline University. 651-523-2858, dschultz@gw.hamline.edu
  • Jack Uldrich, Independence Party. 612-267-1212 or 612-827-6488
  • Tony Solgard, former president, FairVote Minnesota. 612-242-5642
  • Rob Richie, executive director, FairVote. 301-270-4616, rr@fairvote.org
  • Steve Hill, director, Political Reform Program, New America Foundation. hill@newamerica.net

Ranked Choice Voting Resources

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