IRV Supporters
Instant Runoff Voting has a long list of supporters across the political spectrum, including President Barack Obama and Senator John McCain. The Sacramento Bee, San Jose Mercury News, and USA Today have endorsed IRV, and so has the Alaska Republican Party, the California Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters, and the Sierra Club.
“Instant runoff voting would... encourage candidates to hold a firm set of principles without worrying that their beliefs could make them unviable. It would allow people to vote for candidates they really want to elect, thereby increasing both enthusiasm and turnout.”
-Howard Dean, exerpt from his book What We Do Now
"Instant runoff voting makes good sense in Oakland: it's fair, it saves money for critical public services and it promotes more candidate diversity. It will bring Oakland to the forefront of election reform and focus voter attention on these critical local races."
-Congresswoman Barbara Lee
“Instant runoff voting will lead to good government because voters will elect leaders who have the support of a majority. Elected leaders will be more likely to listen to all and cities will be able to enjoy big tax savings and keep majority rule.”
-Senator John McCain, urging Alaska voters to support IRV in 2002
President Barack Obama introduced legislation as an Illinois state senator in 2002 to require IRV in state primary elections and special elections. Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. (Illinois) and Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) also support IRV.
The following is a partial list of individuals throughout California who support IRV:
Debra Bowen, California Secretary of State
Hilary Bradbury-Huang, Pasadena Area Community College District Trustee
Julia Brownley, California State Assemblymember
Keith Carson, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 5, President
Tom Camarella, Culver City Charter Review Committee Member
Todd Campbell, Burbank Mayor
Tom Campbell, Former Congressman, Stanford law professor
Wilma Chan, State Assemblymember, District 16 (Oakland)
Xilonin Cruz-Gonzalez, Azusa Board of Education President
Christopher Dobbins, Oakland School Board Member-Elect, District 6
Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles City Councilmember
Loni Hancock, State Assemblymember, District 14 (Oakland)
Linda Handy, Peralta Community Colleges Board of Trustees (Area 3), President
Evelyn Jerome, past president, Los Angeles County Young Democrats
Sheila Jordan, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools, Hayward, California
David Kakishiba, Oakland School Board Member, District 2, President
Rebecca Kaplan, AC Transit Board of Directors, At-Large
Pat Kernighan, Oakland City Councilmember, District 2
Alice Lai-Bitker, Alameda County Board of Supervisors, District 3
Barbara Lee, Congresswoman, District 9 (Oakland)
Arend Lijphart, Research Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, San Diego
Doug Linney, East Bay MUD Board of Directors, Ward 5
Kevin McKeown, City Councilmember, Santa Monica, California
Nancy Nadel, Oakland City Councilmember, District 3
Christian Peeples, AC Transit Board of Directors, At-Large
Ken Rice, former Oakland School Board Member, District 1*
Wilson Riles, former Oakland City Councilmember, District 5*
Bill Rosendahl, Los Angeles City Councilmember
Juan C. Ros, Executive Director, Libertarian Party of California
John Russo, Oakland City Attorney
Dan Siegel, Dan Siegel, Oakland School Board Member, District 2
Dick Spees, former Oakland City Councilmember, District 4*
Rein Taagepera, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of California, Irvine
Susan Timmi Robles, Burbank Charter Review Committee Member
Garen Yegparian, Burbank Charter Review Committee Member
Some organizations which support IRV
Alaska Republican Party
Alliance for Democracy, Mendocino Coast Chapter
American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
American Reform Party of California
Banneker Center for Economic Justice
Black Liberation Radio
Boston VOTE
Butterfly Gardeners Association
California Democratic Party
Californians for Electoral Reform
Center for Constitutional Rights
Citizens for Legitimate Government
Common Cause (CA, VT & MA)
Colorado Democratic Party
Libertarian Party of California
League of Women Voters (MINN, WA, AZ, VT)
Massachusetts Democratic Party
Maine Democratic Party
National Association of State PIRGs
Patch Adams Center
Santa Rosa Democratic Club
Sierra Club & Sierra Student Coalition
Texans for Public Justice, Austin, TX
Voter March
Note: the information above was compiled from several web sites, including: fairvote.org, lavotefire.org, calirv.org.
