Letter: Consider instant runoff voting

A significant percentage of voters would like more choices than the two major party candidates and fewer negative ads. The good news is that both these worthy goals can be accomplished by having a better voting system. With the voting system called instant runoff voting (IRV) there can be more than two candidates and the voting system can still clearly show which candidate is preferred by a majority of the voters. For information about how instant runoff voting works, Google Fairvote.org.

Instant runoff voting allows voters to give their first-choice vote to the candidate who represents their highest political goals and their second-choice vote to the candidate who is closest to their first choice vote.

Here is how negative ads are reduced: When there are three significant candidates in a race, in order for any of them to win a majority, he or she is probably going to need second choice votes. This need to win second choice votes is a strong and positive incentive for a candidate to explain carefully and forthrightly both his differences and his constructive similarities with the other candidates. This is an incentive to not use negative ads.

Given the inconsistency between the plurality popular vote that Hillary Clinton won and the Electoral College, we need to ask, if we use the majority rule standard in each state and for the national popular vote, will that improve the likelihood that the Electoral College and the popular vote will agree?

Clark Rieke

Cedar Rapids