Fwd: IRV in S.F. Going To Court - Please Contribute To Legal Defense Fund

From: DemocracyU@aol.com
Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2003 18:25:37 EDT
Subject: Fwd: IRV in S.F. Going To Court - Please Contribute To Legal Defense Fund
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
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From: "Steven Hill" 
To: "Steven Hill" 
Subject: IRV in S.F. Going To Court - Please Contribute To Legal Defense Fund
Date: Tue, 22 Jul 2003 17:25:51 -0700


From:  Steven Hill, Center for Voting and Democracy 

Dear Friends, Colleagues, and IRV Supporters,

Over the next 3 weeks, very powerful special interests in San Francisco
will be trying to overturn last year's victory for instant runoff voting
(IRV) by blocking its implementation for this November's mayoral
election.  They have hired high-priced political consultants and big
name law firms to kill IRV behind closed doors, before it has a chance
to work. These powerful forces want to stop IRV because they think it
hurts their handpicked candidate for mayor.  

We have been organizing public rallies, letters to public officials and
administrators, face to face meetings, and more.  Recently we turned out
160 supporters to a public hearing.  We are chartering a bus to a
hearing at the Secretary of State's office in Sacramento. We're
organizing a major grassroots campaign to make sure the decision makers
know that the people want IRV implemented. 

And now we're preparing to go to court to enforce the law. 

We need your help.  The law is on our side, and our attorney (who is an
expert in election law) says we can win in court if we have the legal
resources to get the job done.

We need to raise $25,000 for our legal fund and other political work.
We're asking supporters to make a tax-deductible contribution of $100 or
more to defend instant runoff voting in San Francisco. If 250 of you
make this donation, we will reach our goal. Can we count on you?  This
email is being sent all over the country, and this seems like a
realizable goal for our national movement and San Francisco supporters.

You helped us before, during the campaign for Proposition A last year.
With your help, we led that exciting campaign, and it was a historic
moment when IRV passed overwhelmingly in March 2002.  

But not everyone saw it that way. For more than a year, powerful special
interests have been spending tens of thousands of dollars on political
consultants and lawyers to kill IRV. Nearly 17 months later, machine
politics and bureaucratic foot dragging have placed IRV in danger. It
seems that higher voter turnout, incentives to build coalitions, and
less impact from out-of-control campaign spending and independent
expenditures isn't for everyone.

Fortunately, the law is on our side.  Our legal advisors say we have an
excellent chance of obtaining a court order that the City of San
Francisco MUST conduct an IRV election.  But time is running out.

And so once again we turn to you for help -- to make sure the law is
followed, and that IRV is implemented.  Your tax-deductible donation to
our SAVE IRV FUND will help us continue to build legal and public
pressure on city and state officials to do the right thing -- to follow
the law and implement instant runoff voting for this November.  

YOUR DONATION NOW could make the difference between whether we implement
instant runoff voting in San Francisco or not. And of course getting IRV
in San Francisco will help to spread it nationally.  

All donations are tax-deductible, and there is no limit (and no amount
is too small). Please write a check to "CVD - IRV Defense Fund" and mail
it to:  Center for Voting and Democracy, PO Box 22411, San Francisco,
California  94122.  

(If you wish to donate over the Web via PayPal, here is the link on our
web site: 
http://www.fairvote.org/contents.htm
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the "PayPal" icon). 

And please do it TODAY, the clock is ticking.  We must take legal action
right away. Because this is so urgent, we may call you in the next few
days to follow-up.

Sorry in advance if you receive this more than once. Please email this
to your own email lists.  

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Steven Hill
Center for Voting and Democracy 

P.S. For those who make donations of $200 or more, I will personally
send you a complimentary copy of my recent book, "Fixing Elections:  The
Failure of America's Winner Take All Politics" (Routledge Press,
www.FixingElections.com).