Bob Collins, in the Minnesota Public Radio's News Cut Blog, labeled a new bill from Minnesota Representative Kent Eken as one of "Five bills worth visiting before they die." He joked that it should be called the "Keep the Independence Party from ever Winning an Election Act of 2009." His reasoning is because the Representatives bill would require certain elected officials to receive the majority (50%+) of the vote, not just the plurality. Of course the recent, current, yet to be determined U.S. Senate race may be the motivation behind this bill. While Bob joked about it being the death knell of the Independence Party, I commented that I could actually support this measure.
The reason I don't support the bill as written is because it lacks any resolution to elections where the top vote getter does not receive the majority of the vote. That is not to say that members of the Independence Party of Minnesota are against a majority requirement for election. On the contrary, we have supported this position for years. The IP has been a strong and vocal supporter of a Fair Vote for Minnesotans. If Representative Eken will add a provision for Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) to his bill, he will see the members of the Independence Party actually rally support for this bill.
No matter where you stand on IRV, Representative Eken's bill is incomplete, and thus unworkable. If he adds IRV, or some other bridge from plurality to majority, this bill may get the support it will need to live through the session.
