A Beachhead for IRV

On September 29, we invite you to join Long Beach Councilmember Suja Lowenthal for a Town Hall discussion about Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), which might soon be placed on the Apr. 2010 Long Beach ballot.

By eliminating separate runoff elections, IRV will not only relieve voter fatigue, but will save up to $1.2 million in taxpayer dollars per election (source: Long Beach City Clerk). Already, Councilmembers Suja Lowenthal, Gary DeLong, Robert Garcia and Val Lerch have joined the Los Angeles League in supporting IRV.

Currently, Long Beach holds costly, two-round elections that fatigue voters and waste millions of dollars. In April 2008, only 12 percent of registered voters participated in the municipal election, which cost Long Beach taxpayers nearly $700,000 — a whopping $60 per voter.

Currently, IRV is being studied by Los Angeles County and the cities of Long Beach, Los Angeles and Pasadena. IRV has already been adopted by San Francisco, Oakland, Minneapolis, Memphis, Burlington VT, and Santa Fe. At a time of fiscal and economic crisis, IRV saves San Francisco taxpayers about $3 million every year.

In a nutshell, IRV allows voters to rank their top 3 choices (1-2-3). This way, if your top choice cannot win, there’s no need to vote again. Instead, your vote will automatically go to your second choice.

To bring IRV to Long Beach, voters need to approve an amendment to the City Charter. For this to happen, a majority of the nine-person City Council must first approve legislation to put IRV on the ballot.

IRV has already been endorsed by an influential, diverse group of leaders, including: the Los Angeles Area League of Women Voters, CM Suja Lowenthal, CM Gary DeLong, CM Robert Garcia, CM Val Lerch, Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, Alamitos Beach Neighborhood Association, LA Area Chamber of Commerce, CA Controller John Chiang, Los Angeles City Attorney Carmen Trutanich, Assemblymember Warren Furutani, LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, LA County Federation of Labor, California Common Cause, and Congressmember Judy Chu. A full list of endorsers is available at IRVforLongBeach.org.

Come learn more about IRV! Please join CM Suja Lowenthal and many other civic leaders at Long Beach City Hall, City Hall Chambers, Sept. 29, 5:30 pm, 333 W. Ocean Blvd, Long Beach.

IRV: an idea whose time has come.