In this issue - August 8, 2007
MCN - Hamline IRV Forum | State IRV Task Force | FairVoteMinnesota SouthEast |St Paul Campaign | New Board Members | IRV around the Country
MN Council of Nonprofits-Hamline Forum Puts IRV in the Spotlight Instant Runoff Voting is "just the latest phase of making our democracy work better" said former US Congressman Tim Penny at the July 24th forum on Instant Runoff Voting co-sponsored by IRV supporter Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN), Hamline University and FairVote Minnesota. Tim Penny was one of several panelists in a lively and informative discussion moderated by Jon Pratt, MCN Executive Director. Others included Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, State Representative Carlos Mariani, Minneapolis Council Member Ralph Remington, Hamline University Professor David Schultz, and FairVote Minnesota Executive Director, Jeanne Massey. The event drew elected officials, nonprofit and business leaders, media representatives and community members from the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota to learn about Instant Runoff Voting, its implementation in Minneapolis, the campaign to bring it to Saint Paul, and the Secretary of State's taskforce efforts to examine its application in state and other local elections. The media-worthy event yielded an endorsement of the Saint Paul campaign in the Star Tribune, a story in the Pioneer Press, a conversation with political party chairs about Instant Runoff Voting on Almanac and coverage in the Minnesota Monitor.
Statewide IRV Task Force Secretary of State Mark Ritchie convened the first meeting of the statewide Instant Runoff Voting Taskforce on June 27th. FairVote Minnesota is excited to be a part of the process and welcomes the Secretary Of State's leadership in helping Minneapolis implement Instant Runoff Voting and examining the potential of this important voting reform in state and other local elections in Minnesota. FairVote Minnesota will provide ongoing updates of the work of the Taskforce. Click here for an overview of the Taskforce, an update on the initial meeting and the anticipated process moving forward. FairvoteMinnesota SouthEast FairVote Minnesota Board member, Dag Knudsen, has established FairVoteMinnesota SouthEast, a program to educate Southeast Minnesota communities about Instant Runoff Voting and to facilitate community interest in initiating charter amendment efforts around Instant Runoff Voting. Initial work is focused on discussions with Redwing and Lake City charter commissions, but the effort will broaden to include Goodhue, Wabasha, Winona, Houston, Olmstead, and Fillmore counties, which are home to the following charter cities: Cannon Falls, Red Wing, Lake City, Wabasha, Winona, Rushford, Chatfield, and Rochester. Outreach activities will include a website, educational materials and a newsletter focused specifically on this geographic area as well as presentations to community groups and local policy making bodies. For further information, assistance, ideas, or requests for educational materials and presentations, contact Dag I. Knudsen at dag.knudsen@fairvotemn.org, or phone 651-345-3800, or mail to P. O. Box 180, Lake City, MN 55041-0180. St. Paul Better Ballot Campaign Update The Saint Paul Better Ballot Campaign has collected over 5,000 signatures in its effort to advance Instant Runoff Voting to the ballot! In the coming week, the campaign will be assessing the signature count along with other factors and making a determination to move forward with a ballot measure campaign this November or to wait until 2008. In its July 26th editorial, the Star Tribune endorsed the campaign's efforts to put IRV on the ballot: "The idea is catching on that instant runoff voting -- that is, ranking candidates in order of preference -- would change Minnesota democracy for the better. Last year, it was embraced by voters in Minneapolis, for implementation in city elections perhaps as soon as 2009. This year, St. Paul voters should get a chance to join the experiment. A petition drive appears likely to collect more than the 5,098 signatures required to put a switch to instant runoff voting on this year's City Council election ballot." The Saint Paul Pioneer Press has not yet lent its support to the IRV ballot measure effort and the Better Ballot Campaign is asking supporters to weigh in with Letters to the Editor. Click here for this and other campaign news
Click here to get involved
Click here if you can't donate time, but can make contribution.
Click here to receive campaign updates New Board Additions to FairVote Minnesota
We welcomes Dag Knudsen and Ellen Brown to the FairVote Minnesota Board. Dag Knudsen is a long-time scholar and Instant Runoff Voting activist and speaker, and joins the Board from Lake City, Minnesota. He brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, which he is using to launch a new initiative in Southeast Minnesota to educate residents in that part of the state about Instant Runoff Voting. Dag Knudsen is a licensed professional engineer and fellow of the American Council of Engineering Companies, and owns and operates an international management consulting firm company. He is a frequent speaker at national conferences, an author of numerous technical and business papers, and active in technical associations. Saint Paul resident and Independence Party Treasurer, Ellen Brown, joins the FairVote Minnesota Board. In addition to her active role in the Independence Party, she is a strategic analysis and public policy consultant and volunteers as Director Emeritus of the Great River Greening, a reader for the MN State Services for the Blind, and a board member of Northland College. She has extensive and diverse experience in the public and private sectors as past owner of Brown Partners, Inc.; former Executive Director of the Greening the Great River Park; former Vice President, Control Data Corporation; former Assistant Commissioner for Government and Community Relations, MN Department of Transportation; and past board member of several organizations including the Citizens League, Hmong-American Partnership, MN Museum of Art, CommonBond and Responsible Credit Partnership.
IRV around the Country Voters in Sarasota (FL), Aspen (CO) and Clallam County (WA) will be voting on Instant Runoff Voting at the polls in November, following four successful ballot measures last year in Minneapolis, Pierce County (WA), and Davis and Oakland (CA). The prospects are good if current trends continue: IRV has won its last nine ballot measures by overwhelming majorities. Read more at www.FairVote.Org about these ballot measures, Colorado's statewide taskforce to examine Instant Runoff Voting for the state, and implementation efforts in Pierce County and North Carolina. 
| <!-- \\\ content cell /// --> <!-- /// gutter \\\ --> 
