As mentioned in the chapter, some localities (such as San Francisco) have replaced runoff elections and even primaries with instant runoff voting to save time and money. Most jurisdictions have implemented a two-stage system in which if a candidate fails to receive a majority of votes in the first round, a second runoff election is held weeks later between the two candidates who earned the most votes. For instance, France employs a two-stage system for its presidential elections. No primaries are held. Instead, all candidates from all parties are on the ballot in the first round, which usually guarantees a second round, since it is very difficult for a single candidate to earn a majority of votes among such a large field. Although a runoff in the French presidential election is always expected, it doesn’t mean that French elections are not without the occasional surprise. In 2002, the country was shocked when the right-wing candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen beat the socialist Lionel Jospin to take second place and thus advance to the runoff election against the first-round winner (and incumbent) Jacques Chirac. It had been widely assumed that Jospin would take second, setting up a runoff between himself and Chirac. Instant runoff voting can be explained in five steps:
1. Voters rank all candidates according to their preferences.
2. The votes are counted.
3. If a candidate has earned a majority of the votes, that candidate is the winner. If not, go to step 4.
4. Eliminate candidate(s) with the fewest votes. (Eliminate more than one candidate at the same time only if they tie for the fewest votes.)
5. Redistribute votes from eliminated candidates to the next-ranked choices on those ballots. Once this is done, return to step 2.
(a) Instant runoff voting is slowly gaining traction. It is used in a dozen cities in the United States and for state-wide judicial elections in North Carolina (as of 2013). Given the potential savings in money and time, it might be surprising that the institution isn’t more widely adopted. Why might some oppose instant runoff voting?
(b) What other concerns or criticisms might be raised about instant runoff voting?