The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate receives the required number of votes, then those candidates having less than a certain proportion of the votes, or all but the two candidates receiving the most votes, are eliminated, and a second round of voting is held.
In the United States, ballot access refers to the rules and procedures regulating the conditions under which a candidate, political party, or ballot measure is entitled to appear on voters' ballots. As the nation's election process is decentralized by Article I, Section 4, of the United States Constitution, ballot access laws are established and enforced by the states. As a result, ballot access processes may vary from one state to another. State access requirements for candidates generally pertain to personal qualities of a candidate, such as: minimum age, residency, citizenship, and being a qualified voter. Additionally, many states require prospective candidates to collect a specified number of qualified voters' signatures on petitions of support and mandate the payment of filing fees before granting access; ballot measures are similarly regulated. Each state also regulates how political parties qualify for automatic ballot access, and how those minor parties that do not can. Fundamental to democracy, topics related to ballot access are the subject of considerable debate in the United States.
Elections in the United States are held for government officials at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, the nation's head of state, the president, is elected indirectly by the people of each state, through an Electoral College. Today, these electors almost always vote with the popular vote of their state. All members of the federal legislature, the Congress, are directly elected by the people of each state. There are many elected offices at state level, each state having at least an elective governor and legislature. There are also elected offices at the local level, in counties, cities, towns, townships, boroughs, and villages; as well as for special districts and school districts which may transcend county and municipal boundaries. According to a study by political scientist Jennifer Lawless, there were 519,682 elected officials in the United States as of 2012.
FairVote is a 501(c)(3) organization that advocates electoral reform in the United States.
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a voting method used in single-seat elections with more than two candidates. Instead of voting only for a single candidate, voters in IRV elections can rank the candidates in order of preference. Ballots are initially counted for each elector's top choice, losing candidates are eliminated, and ballots for losing candidates are redistributed until one candidate is the top remaining choice of a majority of the voters. When the field is reduced to two, it has become an "instant runoff" that allows a comparison of the top two candidates head-to-head.
The exhaustive ballot is a voting system used to elect a single winner. Under the exhaustive ballot the elector simply casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. However, if no candidate is supported by an overall majority of votes then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and a further round of voting occurs. This process is repeated for as many rounds as necessary until one candidate has a majority.
The contingent vote, also known as top-two IRV is an electoral system used to elect a single winner. It is a variation of instant-runoff voting (IRV), in which the voter ranks the candidates in order of preference. Under the contingent vote, there is a first round in which a candidate requires a majority of first preference votes to win. If no candidate has a majority, then all but the two leading candidates are eliminated and there is a second count, where the votes of those who supported eliminated candidates are distributed among the two remaining candidates. This ensures that one candidate achieves a majority.
Electoral reform in Virginia refers to efforts to change the electoral system in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Virginia has undergone much electoral change since its settling in 1607, many of which were required by federal legislation. However, it remains a relatively conservative state in this respect compared to California and others which have experimented with various alternative systems.
Electoral reform in Vermont describes how changes in electoral practices alter how election results represent the intent of Vermont voters.
Electoral reform in Alabama refers to efforts to change the voting laws in the Yellowhammer State. In 2006, HB 711 was introduced to use preferential ballots for overseas military voters' it was passed by the Alabama House of Representatives. In March 2007, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments as to whether Alabama election law unfairly restricts third-party and independent candidates from the state ballot. Candidates are required to collect signatures from 3% of the total number of voters who voted in the previous gubernatorial election in order to gain ballot access. Ordinarily, such candidates would gather signatures at the polling place at the party primary, but Alabama made it more difficult by moving the deadline for signature turn-in to the date of the primary. Alabama ranks third nationally in disenfranchising formerly incarcerated persons. One out of every 14 Alabama residents is disenfranchised. To regain the right to vote, individuals convicted of crimes of “moral turpitude” who have completed a felony sentence must apply to the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote. As soon as you apply for a Pardon you automatically receive the right to vote back. This is the new rule of law and was passed through the House and the Senate due to voter disenfranchisement. In 2007, HB 192 was introduced to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, but it failed in the Constitution & Elections committee.
Electoral reform in California refers to efforts to change election and voting laws in the West Coast state of California.
Electoral reform in Florida refers to efforts to change the voting and election laws in the United States state of Florida.
Electoral reform in Minnesota refers to efforts to change the voting and election laws in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.
Electoral reform in North Carolina refers to efforts to change the voting and election laws in the Tar Heel State.
Electoral reform in Washington refers to efforts to change the voting laws in the U.S. state of Washington. In 2006, Pierce County's electorate adopted Amendment 3, voting to switch to instant-runoff voting, a voting system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. Part of the impetus for this measure was dissatisfaction with the "pick-a-party primary" system. Washington requires 1,000 petition signatures for printed ballot access. Voting rights of felons are restored upon completion of sentence, including prison, parole, and probation. Bills to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact and award Washington's 11 electoral votes to the winner of the nationwide popular vote winner were introduced in both houses of the Washington State Legislature in 2007, but they died. The Bill was re-introduced in 2009, passed, and was signed into law.
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is used for state and congressional elections in Maine and for local elections in 11 cities, where it is often called "ranked-choice voting." Those cities include San Francisco, California; Oakland, California; Berkeley, California; San Leandro, California; Takoma Park, Maryland; Basalt, Colorado; Telluride, Colorado; St. Paul, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Portland, Maine. It is pending implementation in several additional cities, including in 2019 in Las Cruces, New Mexico and St. Louis Park, Minnesota. IRV is commonly used for student government and other non-governmental elections, but it has been proposed for Democratic primaries.
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of ranked preferential voting method used in single-seat elections with more than two candidates. Instead of indicating support for only one candidate, voters in IRV elections can rank the candidates in order of preference. Ballots are initially counted for each voter's top choice. If a candidate has more than half of the vote based on first-choices, that candidate wins. If not, then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. The voters who selected the defeated candidate as a first choice then have their votes added to the totals of their next choice. This process continues until a candidate has more than half of the votes. When the field is reduced to two, it has become an "instant runoff" that allows a comparison of the top two candidates head-to-head. Compared to plurality voting, IRV can reduce the impact of vote-splitting when multiple candidates earn support from like-minded voters.
The city of Burlington, Vermont held a mayoral election on March 3, 2009, the second election since the city approved instant-runoff voting (IRV) for use in mayoral elections in 2005. The incumbent mayor Bob Kiss, who had served since 2006, ran for reelection as the VT Progressive candidate.
Electoral reform in Oregon refers to efforts to change election and voting laws in the West Coast state of Oregon.
Ranked voting describes certain voting systems in which voters rank outcomes in a hierarchy on the ordinal scale. In some areas, ranked-choice voting is called preferential voting, but in other places this term has various more specific meanings. The other major branch of voting systems are cardinal voting systems, where candidates are independently rated, rather than relatively ranked.
