Seattle Press on Line - The Will of the People

My Two Cents

The Will of the People

By Jonathan Callahan

Mar 22, 2001 -- "The will of the people ... is the only legitimate foundation of any government, and to protect its free expression should be our first object."--Thomas Jefferson to Benjamin Waring, 1801.

What relevance does this 200-year-old Jefferson quote have for 21st century Seattleites? I'm glad you asked. It turns out that three Washington state senators from the Seattle area have taken up the torch of Jeffersonian idealism.

Senators Adam Kline, Bill Finkbeiner, and Jeanne Kohl-Welles have submitted Senate Bill 5338, "establishing instant runoff voting."

After painfully close elections for president and senator, many elected officials are carefully scrutinizing our electoral process. It has come to their attention that one of the founding principles of our democracy, "majority rules," actually turns out to be implemented as "plurality rules."

Whenever there is a close race and even a single, weak third party candidate, the winner often comes up with only a plurality of votes: more than anyone else but less than a majority. I suspect that TJ would have been dissatisfied with this outcome: "I subscribe to the principle, that the will of the majority honestly expressed should give law " (Thomas Jefferson, The Anas, 1793).

"The unquestionable republicanism of the American mind will break through the mist under which it has been clouded, and will oblige its agents to reform the principles and practices of their administration."--Thomas Jefferson to Elbridge Gerry, 1799.

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) is the surest way to correct this "plurality" problem as it allows individuals to vote the way they think: "A; but if not A then B; and if neither A nor B then C." With an IRV ballot you rank the candidates 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. If your first choice is eliminated during the counting through lack of votes, then your vote will count toward your second choice. The winner is the first candidate to achieve a true majority. For more on IRV see www.fairvote.org.

So kudos to Kline, Finkbeiner and Kohl-Welles for their efforts. But is there any place for us individuals now that the election is over? Absolutely! You can be a minuteman or minutewoman for democracy by contacting your state Senators and Representatives and urging passage of this important bill.

Seldom have we had the opportunity to effect so important a change in our democratic institutions. Never again should you have to worry about a third-party spoiler. Never again should a national party tell people: "Don't vote your conscience!" Never again should you have no answer to the question: "What have you done to protect democracy?"

By voicing your support for this bill you can do something for yourself, for your children and grandchildren and for the entire community. If for no other reason, do it for Jefferson:

"It behooves our citizens to be on their guard, to be firm in their principles, and full of confidence in themselves. We are able to preserve our self-government if we will but think so."--Thomas Jefferson to Thomas Mann Randolph, Jr., 1800.

Jonathan Callahan lives in Fremont.

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