AB 1294 will allow all cities and counties to use ranked voting systems, incluing instant runoff voting and choice voting. It passed the Legislature on September 12 and is now on Governor Schwarzenegger’s desk.

Please contact the Governor today and urge him to sign AB 1294. You can call, email, fax, or send a postal note. The most important thing is to do it immediately.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Fax: 916-445-4633
Phone: 916-445-2841
Email: visit gov.ca.gov/interact

A sample letter appears below. For more information, see our AB 1294 Fact Sheet and the abbreviated talking points below. For additional background, detailed talking points, and the list of organizations and public officials supporting AB 1294, please visit CfER's AB 1294 action page.

As a rule of thumb, legible handwritten letters are better than typed or computer printed ones. Letters (as long as they’re legible) are better than faxes. Faxes are better than emails. Emails are better than phone messages. Phone messages are better than illegible handwritten letters. And all of these options are much better than doing nothing and then regretting it later. The most important thing is to take action immediately.

Ballot Access News has these useful tips on surviving your encounter with the Governor's telephone system.

Brevity is the soul of wit, and also the heart of an effective constituent letter.

Brief Talking Points on AB 1294

• AB 1294 is about local control. It provides an option, not a mandate. It makes it possible for general law municipalities and counties to consider election reforms that can increase voter participation and save our municipalities money. Currently, charter cities and counties can adopt electoral systems that best meet their unique needs. The same opportunity should be extended to all cities and counties. The bill requires voter approval in order to adopt a change to ranked voting, so it will only be implemented where there is strong public support for the change.
• Cost savings for local government. There is no fiscal impact on the state, while it gives local governments an opportunity to save money, in some cases a considerable amount. San Francisco alone saves about $1.6 million per election. Los Angeles recently spent $5 million on a runoff election for local offices, which only had 6% voter turnout.
• Instant runoff voting has worked extremely well for voters where it has been implemented. Research in San Francisco shows that 87% of voters understand ranked voting; voters prefer it, three-to-one, to their old system; and think it is more fair by a margin of two-to-one. Voter approval of IRV holds up across every demographic: neighborhood, race, age, sex, party and political philosophy.
• AB 1294 contains uniform election code support for ranked voting, which will help both charter and general law jurisdictions that want to use them. City and county officials and/or local Registrars are not put in the difficult positions of having to make up such procedures themselves
• AB 1294 has broad support. Endorsements include the League of California Cities, the California League of Women Voters, California Common Cause, and the City Clerks Association of California.

Sample Letter to the Governor

Letters to public officials are always more effective when they are in your own words. The example below is best used as exactly that -- an example. Please see the talking points above for other useful ideas.

[Date]

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger,

I urge you to sign AB 1294, giving all cities and counties the option to use Instant Runoff Voting and Choice Voting. These ranked voting systems have proven themselves to be both good for local governments and good for voters.

Local governments can save a lot of money by being able to elect their representatives in a single election, without the need for a costly runoff election. San Francisco alone saves over $1.6 million per election. Los Angeles just recently held a set of runoff elections that cost around $5 million and only had a 6% voter turnout. That money could be better spent elsewhere, and democracy would be better served by involving more citizens in the process.

Instant Runoff Voting works well, and voters understand it, use it effectively, and like it. Voters in San Francisco preferred IRV by a three to one margin over their previous system, and two to one thought it more fair.

This bill would give general law cities and counties the same opportunity to use ranked voting methods that charter cities and counties have now. These methods can be advantageous in many situations and cities and counties should have the right to make the decision to implement them based on their own specific circumstances and the will of their electorates, rather than being constrained as under current law.

Sincerely,

[YourNameHere]

Last revised September 27, 2007