Minnesota Report
One of the biggest fears we have had with our support for the DFL retaking the Senate Majority was the advancement of the idea of Instant Run-off Voting for all elections, federal, constitutional and legislative. The selection of Sen Jim Carlson (DFL-Eagan) to chair the Election Committee is problematic in this regard because he is a misguided Ranked Choice Voting supporter.
The claims made by supporters are untrue and have never been proven here in Minnesota, but they keep advancing the same tired lies.
Ranked Choice Voting:
● Gives voters more choice and more power (More choices means more confusion)
● Ensures winners earn majority support (Less than 50% of all election administered under RCV have resulted in majority winners.)
● Fosters more civil, issue-oriented campaigns (This does not stop Independent Expenditures, which largely focus on divisive issues)
● Eliminates vote splitting and the spoiler problem (Unproven and is a speculation)
● Promotes more inclusive, diverse and representative elections (Diversity is not a factor in a voting system, it is determined by the candidates who run)
● Reduces polarization and breaks through gridlock (Unproven supposition)
● Is more efficient and cost effective. (Not true, because there is no cost comparative data here in Minnesota)
This week Fair Vote MN sent out the following form letter to their supporters.
Having just elected the largest number of pro-RCV candidates to the Minnesota House and Senate, we are on the precipice of securing the majority necessary to pass RCV statewide next session!! You can help us start session strong by taking a minute to send an email, sample below, to the winning candidates in your state legislative district.
As a reminder, Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference and ensures that the winner is supported by a majority of voters. At a time when partisan divisiveness and misinformation are tearing at the fabric of our democracy, RCV is cited by leading political scientists as a top reform to save it. YOU can help bring this promising reform statewide by emailing your incoming state legislators!
You are in Senate District 045 and House District 45B. Please note: If your district is not indicated, we do not have it on file. Please click here to find your district: https://www.gis.lcc.mn.gov/redist2020/Legislative/L2022/house/interactive/map.html.
Here’s what we need you to do:
1. Click on this spreadsheet to find the emails of winning candidates/incoming legislators in your senate and house districts. Copy and paste those emails into the TO section of your email. Be sure to include emails of BOTH your state senator and house member.
2. Copy and paste the sample email below into your email. Feel free to send as is or edit to personally represent your views.
3. Sign your name and address and hit send!
4. Reply to this email to let us know you contacted them.
If you have any questions, feel free to reach me at jeanne.massey@fairvotemn.org. Thank you so much for taking action to advance this promising reform in our state!
Sincerely,
Jeanne
Sample email below:
*********************************************************************************************
Senator-Elect [Last name] and Representative-Elect [Last name],
Congratulations on winning your seat to the state capitol!
As your constituent, I am urging you to support Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and make it a top priority in the 2023 legislative session. RCV is a simple but powerful reform that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference and ensures that the winner is supported by a majority of voters. RCV is important to me because it is one of the most viable, proven and best ways to strengthen and protect our democracy when we need it most. By changing the incentives for candidates and elected officials, it can break through the gridlock and help us move forward on so many other pressing priorities.
Ranked Choice Voting:
● Gives voters more choice and more power
● Ensures winners earn majority support
● Fosters more civil, issue-oriented campaigns
● Eliminates vote splitting and the spoiler problem
● Promotes more inclusive, diverse and representative elections
● Reduces polarization and breaks through gridlock
● Is more efficient and cost effective.
With increasing political polarization, RCV is needed now more than ever. To learn more, see: https://fairvotemn.org/why.
Ranked Choice Voting is nonpartisan and has proven to work well in a growing number of Minnesota cities. When voters have the opportunity to use RCV, they find it easy to use and prefer it over the old system. I would like to bring RCV statewide, and I hope you will do everything you can to make that a reality – by supporting, voting for and prioritizing the RCV for MN legislation in the 2023 legislative session.
Thank you!
[first and last name]
[address]