In the New Mexico congressional race, the votes for the Green candidate mostly would have transferred to the Democrat. Even if the transfer of votes did not change the results, it would demonstrate that the winner had majority support. Traditional runoff elections are costly, both to the taxpayers who pay for the second election and to candidates who must spend more campaign cash. All voters and partisan sides will benefit from a more democratic voting system that gives voters the winner they want most. Voter participation would rise.
Voters can get more excited about voting and campaigning for their favorite candidates.
Campaign debate would improve. Because candidates know that winning may require being the second or third choice of supporters of other candidates, they will be less inclined to attack opponents. Our current electoral laws too often fail these tests. Rob Richie is executive director of the Center for Voting and Democracy, a nonprofit organization based in Washington DC that educates about voting systems. Steven Hill is the Center's west coast director.