Yes we can!
Yesterday’s news that U.S. President Barack Obama will be visiting the UK at the end of May, means that there is a strong chance that, by then, he will be visiting a country that has just taken the historic step of endorsing democratic change to the way we elect our political representatives.
But surely President Obama would have no interest in changes to the electoral system? Well, Obama’s own history suggests otherwise. President Obama understands the benefits of the Alternative Vote, and he has himself supported moves to introduce this fairer voting system.
When he was Democratic Senator for the State of Illinois, he introduced a Bill which would have meant adopting the Alternative Vote (known in the U.S. as “Instant Run-Off Voting” or IRV) for primaries for selecting candidates to “all statewide offices and congressional offices”. Obama’s Bill [SB 1789] also authorized municipalities to hold referendums “to adopt the [AV] voting method for the offices of mayor, city clerk, and city treasurer”.
See here for more information of Barack Obama’s record of support for AV see
What better way to welcome the President, than to show that Britain is a progressive, democratic country willing to embrace the need for hange, and voting yes in May?
Really? Obama wanted to use something like AV at a local and state level and this is an endorsement? Amazing