Vermont: Senate approve Instant Runoff plan
The Burlington Free Press reports: By a slim margin Wednesday, the Senate gave preliminary approval to a bill that would have Vermonters deciding congressional elections by instant runoff voting, the method Burlington used in last year's mayoral vote.
Supporters of the method hailed the 15-13 vote. "This definitely gives it a big boost," said Paul Burns, executive director of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group. "Despite the closeness of the vote, this is a giant step."
Opponents criticized instant runoff voting as confusing, expensive and unnecessary. "It's a problem that doesn't exist that's going to cost us money to fix, and there's not a lot of support around the state," said Sen. George Coppenrath, R-Caledonia.
The legislation calls for using instant runoff voting starting in 2008 with the state's lone U.S. House seat. Voters would rank the candidates in order of preference. If no candidate won more than 50 percent of the first-place votes, voters' second choice would be factored in. The idea is to ensure that whoever wins has the backing of a majority of voters. -- Burlington Free Press.com | Local/Vermont