I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5293

To require States to conduct general elections for Federal office using an 

instant runoff voting system, to direct the Election Assistance Commission to make grants to States to defray the costs of administering 

such systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2004

Mr. JACKSON of Illinois introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on House Administration 

A BILL

To require States to conduct general elections for Federal 

office using an instant runoff voting system, to direct 

the Election Assistance Commission to make grants to 

States to defray the costs of administering such systems, 

and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Majority Vote Act of 

5 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 
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1 (1) In some general elections the majority of 

2 voters split their votes between two similar can3 didates letting a third candidate, supported only by 

4 a minority of the electorate, win the election, thus 

5 denying the will of a majority of the voters. 

6 (2) In other general elections the majority of 

7 voters split their votes between two dissimilar can8 didates, letting a third candidate, supported by an 

9 even smaller minority of the electorate, determine 

10 the election victor, and again denying the will of a 

11 majority of the voters. 

12 (3) The simple plurality winner system used in 

13 most general elections for Federal office creates an 

14 incentive for candidates to engage in negative cam15 paigning. 

16 (4) The principle of majority rule is violated 

17 when the majority does not choose the winner of an 

18 election, and denies the winner a mandate to govern. 

19 (5) A simple solution to this problem of non 

20 majority winners is to require the winner of an elec21 tion to earn a majority of votes. 

22 (6) Instant runoff voting, as used in Utah Re23 publican Party primaries, Ireland, Australia, and 

24 London, requires the winner of an election to earn 

25 a majority of votes. Voters rank candidates in case 
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1 their favorite candidate is eliminated, and the votes 

2 of the candidate’s supporters count for their second 

3 choice in a runoff round. This process continues 

4 until one candidate earns a majority of votes. 

5 (7) By allowing voters to rank candidates, rath6 er than choose just one, candidates are encouraged 

7 to engage in positive campaigning in order to receive 

8 a higher ranking from their opponents’ supporters. 

9 (8) There is increased interest in instant runoff 

10 voting. For example, the system has been approved 

11 for use by voters in San Francisco, California, be12 ginning with the 2004 municipal elections. In 1999, 

13 the New Mexico Senate passed legislation providing 

14 for a ballot measure under which voters would be al15 lowed to implement instant runoff voting for Presi16 dential elections. In Vermont, legislation to enact in17 stant runoff voting for statewide offices, including 

18 the Presidential race, has been endorsed by Common 

19 Cause, the League of Women Voters, and the 

20 Grange. Additionally, the legislatures of States such 

21 as Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington in 

22 2001 debated legislation to enact instant runoff vot23 ing for Presidential elections, and the Speaker of the 

24 California Assembly has introduced a bill to imple-
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1 ment instant runoff voting in elections to fill vacan2 cies in Congress. 

3 (9) In order to conduct an instant runoff elec4 tion, voting equipment must be compatible with bal5 lots that allow voters to rank candidates. 

6 (10) A majority of states currently conduct two7 round runoff elections in some of their statewide, 

8 county, and municipal elections. Two-round elections 

9 cost the states millions of dollars each year and re10 sult in severe drop-offs in voter turnout. Voting 

11 equipment that is compatible with ranked ballots will 

12 give states, counties, and municipalities the option of 

13 saving millions of dollars and boosting voter turnout 

14 by consolidating two-round runoffs into one election. 

15 (11) Consistent with the national underinvest16 ment in voting equipment, much of the Nation’s vot17 ing equipment is not currently compatible with 

18 ranked ballots. 

19 (12) There are currently no Federal mandatory 

20 minimum standards for voting equipment. Although 

21 the Federal Election Commission has promulgated 

22 voluntary standards, these voluntary standards do 

23 not include compatibility with ranked ballots. 
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1 (13) The operation of our current voting and 

2 election system is run by approximately 13,000 sepa3 rate and unequally administered voting jurisdictions. 

4 (14) National polls have shown that the Amer5 ican people support a voting system that is unitary. 

6 SEC. 3. REQUIRING USE OF INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING FOR 

7 GENERAL ELECTIONS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi9 sion of law, each State shall conduct general elections for 

10 Federal office held in the State during 2008 and each suc11 ceeding year using an instant runoff voting system, and 

12 shall ensure that the voting equipment and technology 

13 used to conduct the elections is compatible with such a 

14 system. 

15 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the following defini16 tions apply: 

17 (1) The term ‘‘Federal office’’ has the meaning 

18 given such term in section 301(3) of the Federal 

19 Election Campaign Act of 1971 (2 U.S.C. 431(3)). 

20 (2) The term ‘‘instant runoff voting system’’ 

21 means a system for the election of candidates under 

22 which—

23 (A) runoff counts of candidates are con24 ducted in rounds; 
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1 (B) voters may rank candidates on the bal2 lot according to the order of preference; 

3 (C) if in any round no candidate receives 

4 a majority of the votes cast, the candidate with 

5 the fewest number of votes is eliminated and 

6 the remaining candidates advance to the next 

7 round; 

8 (D) in each round, a voter shall be consid9 ered to have cast one vote for the candidate the 

10 voter ranked highest on the ballot who has not 

11 been eliminated; and 

12 (E) the runoff counts are carried out auto13 matically at the time the votes are cast and tab14 ulated. 

15 (3) The term ‘‘State’’ includes the District of 

16 Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Amer17 ican Samoa, Guam, and the United States Virgin Is18 lands. 

19 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES TO DEFRAY COSTS OF ADMIN20 ISTERING INSTANT RUNOFF VOTING SYSTEM. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—There is 

22 established a program under which the Election Assist23 ance Commission (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

24 ‘‘Commission’’) shall make grants to eligible States to de25 fray the costs of administering an instant runoff voting 
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1 system, including the costs of purchasing voting equip2 ment, software, and other technology necessary for such 

3 a system. 

4 (b) PLAN FOR PROGRAM.—Not later than 60 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commis6 sion shall develop and make public a plan describing the 

7 criteria to be used in the solicitation and approval of appli8 cations for grants under this Act and the criteria to be 

9 used in overseeing the use of funds provided under such 

10 grants, except that under such criteria the Commission 

11 may not require a State to match any portion of the 

12 amount awarded as a condition of eligibility. 

13 (c) ELIGIBILITY OF STATES.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—A State is eligible to receive 

15 a grant under the program under this section if it 

16 submits to the Commission (in such form and man17 ner as the Commission may require) an application 

18 containing such information and assurances as the 

19 Commission may require. 

20 (2) DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION.—The Com21 mission may not consider an application for a grant 

22 under this section unless the application is sub23 mitted prior to the expiration of the 60-day period 

24 which begins on the date the Commission makes 

25 public the plan developed under subsection (b). 
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1 (3) DEADLINE FOR RESPONSE.—The Commis2 sion shall approve or reject an application submitted 

3 under this subsection not later than 120 days after 

4 receiving the application. 

5 (4) CRITERIA FOR REJECTION.—The Commis6 sion may not reject an application submitted under 

7 this subsection unless it finds that—

8 (A) the equipment, software, or other tech9 nology used to administer elections in the State 

10 is not compatible with an instant runoff voting 

11 system; or 

12 (B) the State does not provide for appro13 priate education for voters, poll workers, and 

14 election officials in the use of an instant runoff 

15 voting system. 

16 (d) CAP ON AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of 

17 any grant awarded to a State under the program under 

18 this section may not exceed the product of—

19 (1) the number of residents in the State at the 

20 time the grant is awarded (based on the most recent 

21 decennial census); and 

22 (2) $12. 

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out the pro25 gram under this section—
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1 (1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2005; and 

2 (2) such sums as may be necessary for fiscal 

3 year 2006 and each succeeding fiscal year. 

4 SEC. 5. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS. 

5 Nothing in this Act may be construed to supersede 

6 or conflict with the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (42 U.S.C. 

7 1973aa et seq.) or the National Voter Registration Act 

8 of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 1973gg et seq.). 

9 SEC. 6. SEVERABILITY. 

10 If any provision of this Act or amendment made by 

11 this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment 

12 to any person or circumstance, is held to be unconstitu13 tional, the remainder of this Act and amendments made 

14 by this Act, and the application of the provisions and 

15 amendment to any person or circumstance, shall not be 

16 affected by the holding.

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