Ted Sowinskiof Oak Park Illinois has a pro IRV piece in the Wednesday Journal with the usual incorrect claims that IRV provides a majority win etc. Sowinskiof also incorrectly claims that "IRV is supported by President Obama..." This is an assumption unsupported by facts, as a 3 panel judge in Minnesota found in December of 2009. While 8 years ago, a junior Illinois State Senator Barack Obama introduced a bill for IRV in Illinois, that bill went nowhere. Since then there has been no sign of Barack Obama having anything to do with instant runoff voting at all.
In fact, when the pro IRV group St Paul Better Ballots sent out campaign mailers claiming that President Obama endorsed instant runoff voting, they wound up in court. A 3 panel judge ruled that the group "knowingly made false claims":
Group that backed instant runoff voting in St. Paul is fined $5,000
Group is fined $5,000, but the ruling won't affect referendum approval of IRV. Star Tribune December 1, 2009
... The judges ruled that the Better Ballot campaign deliberately made the false claims on about 40,000 pre-election mailings that urged people to vote for the ranked-choice voting system. Administrative law judges Kathleen Sheehy, Cheryl LeClair-Sommer and Barbara Neilson heard the case.
...
"These false claims of support or endorsement likely influenced some voters, but the on the election cannot be quantified on this record." So the vote will stand.
...
The violations were "multiple and deliberate," the panel said, noting that the Better Ballot group "remains completely unapologetic."
"4. The Complainants have demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that Respondent violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 by falsely claiming that the IRV ballot question was endorsed by the Minnesota DFL and the League of Women Voters of Saint Paul and Minnesota.
5. The Complainants have demonstrated by a preponderance of the evidence that Respondent violated Minn. Stat. § 211B.02 by claiming that the IRV ballot question was endorsed by President Obama, Senator McCain, Ralph Nader and Cynthia McKinney without obtaining their written permission."
When St Paul Better Ballots Group was given a chance to provide proof of an endorsement for IRV from these officials, SPBB could not do it.
8 years ago, junior IL Senator Obama introduced an IRV bill, the bill went nowhere and that was the last about IRV heard from Sen Obama. There is no evidence that President Obama supports instant runoff voting today.
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