Vermont -- IRV passes Senate
The Vermont Press Bureau reports: A bill that would change the way Vermonters vote in congressional elections won final approval in the state Senate Thursday.
In a 16-12 vote, the Senate approved the use of instant runoff voting, a system in which voters would be asked to rank order their choices for Congress in order of preference. If no one candidate drew a majority of the first-place votes, the second choices of voters would be taken into account.
The legislation calls for the system — which was used in last year's Burlington mayoral race — to be used beginning in 2008 for Vermont's lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. If approved, Vermont would be the first state in the nation to use it, officials said.
It's unclear whether the House will have time to act on the measure before the Legislature adjourns next month, said House Speaker Gaye Symington, D-Jericho. -- Senate gives OK to runoff voting bill