IRV
From:
Jack Ferman
Date:
May 09 03:49 UTC
Short link
Rules and procedures that are not in Ordinances are not law and are
not binding. In order for the RFP to be definitive and binding, that
document must be specifically cited in Ordinances. There is no such
citation; therefore, the ElectionsEquipRFP.pdf is not law and is not
binding. Hence, the election judges may determine how to count and
assess the Intent of the Voter as State law requires. Here is a
question for those with expert knowledge of election law. Suppose the
first choice on 5,000 ballots is to a person who is eliminated on the
first round. Suppose 1/2 of those ballots 'bullet' vote for the
dropped candidate, 1/3 of theose ballots leave all choices from #2 and
higher blank. Suppose the remaining 1/6 of those ballots have a 2nd
choice for either of the 2 leading candidates. Since 5/6 of 5,000
ballots are now invalid, they must be discarded. Suppose the election
was for 5 offices and 7 referendem items - the discarded ballots can
be counted in those 5 races and 7 issues. The Rules and Procedures
Ordinances had better be extremely explicit and cover every imaginable
and unimaginable contingency; else you have heard that old refrain -
see ya in court.
On May 8, 2008, at 10:32 AM, Jeanne Massey wrote:
> Jack Ferman:
> Last week in an email from CC Glidden readers were directed to the
> Mpls Ordinances section of the Mpls web pages to read about the next
> election voting procedures. Chapter 2 of Ordinances contains two short
> paragraphs: Sec 5A Conduct of Elections and Sec 5B Voting Method.
> Neither section details the ballot counting precedures
>
> Me:
> The detailed rules and procedures for conducting Minneapolis' IRV
> elections
> were adopted by the Minneapolis City Council on April 18th. They are
> included in the city's RFP for voting equipment.
>
> See full RFP and Rules at:
> http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/procurement/ElectionsEquipRFP.pdf
>
> Jeanne Massey
> Kingfield
> FairVote Minnesota
>
>
Jack Ferman
Kingfield Neighborhood
<email obscured>