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STATE OF MINNESOTA IN SUPREME COURT A09-182

Hennepin County Minnesota Voters Alliance, et al., Appellants, vs. The City of Minneapolis, et al., Respondents, Mark Ritchie, in his official capacity as the Secretary of State for the State of Minnesota or his successor, et al., Defendants, FairVote Minnesota, Inc., intervenordefendant, Respondent. ____________________________________

Magnuson, C.J.

Filed: June 11, 2009 Office of Appellate Courts

Erick Gregg Kaardal, Mohrman & Kaardal, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for appellants. Susan Lee Segal, Minneapolis City Attorney, Lisa Marie Needham, Assistant City Attorney, Peter W. Ginder, Assistant City Attorney, Minneapolis, Minnesota, for City of Minneapolis respondents. James E. Dorsey and Nicole M. Moen, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Keith J. Halleland, Halleland, Lewis, Nilan & Johnson, P.A., Minneapolis, Minnesota, for respondent FairVote Minnesota, Inc. ____________________________________

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SYLLABUS Instant Runoff Voting as adopted in Minneapolis is not facially invalid under the United States or Minnesota Constitution, and does not contravene any principles established by this court in Brown v. Smallwood, 130 Minn. 492, 153 N.W. 953 (1915). Affirmed. OPINION MAGNUSON, Chief Justice. This is a declaratory judgment action challenging the constitutionality of the instant runoff voting (IRV) election methodology adopted by the City of Minneapolis for its municipal elections. Appellants Minnesota Voters Alliance, a nonprofit organization, and six Minneapolis voters contend that the IRV method violates their rights to vote, to associate for political purposes, and to equal protection under both the United States and the Minnesota Constitutions. On cross-motions for summary judgment, the district court ruled that IRV does not infringe on appellants constitutional rights and rejected the challenge to IRV. We affirm. The City of Minneapolis conducts municipal elections in odd-numbered years, electing officers for the positions of Mayor, City Council, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (Park Board), and the Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation (Board of Estimate). The elections for Mayor and City Council are single-seat elections. The Park Board has six commissioners representing individual park districts. These commissioners are elected in single-seat elections. The Park Board also has three at-large commissioners. Two of the at-large commissioners are elected in a two-seat election

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every four years, and the other at-large commissioner is elected in a single-seat election two years later. The Board of Estimate includes two members elected city-wide every four years in a multiple-seat election.1 Prior to the change to IRV, Minneapolis city elections used a nonpartisan primary and general election format. For a single-seat election, all qualifying candidates ran in the same nonpartisan primary, and the top two vote-getters in the primary election qualified to be on the general election ballot. In a single-seat election, whether primary or general, each voter was allowed to vote for one candidate for that office. In multipleseat elections, each voter was allowed to vote for as many candidates as there were seats to fill. For example, in a two-seat election, the top four vote-getters in the primary would qualify for the general election ballot, and the top two vote-getters in the general election would be elected. On November 6, 2006, the voters in the City of Minneapolis voted on a referendum to approve of a new methodology for municipal elections. The question on the ballot read: Should the City of Minneapolis adopt Single Transferable Vote, sometimes known as Ranked Choice Voting or Instant Runoff Voting, as the method for electing the Mayor, City Council, and members of the Park and Recreation Board, Library Board, and Board of Estimate and Taxation without a separate primary election and with ballot format and rules for counting votes adopted by ordinance?

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The Board of Estimate also includes other city officials separately elected to their positions.

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Voters approved the referendum by a 65-35 percent margin. Based on the referendum, the Minneapolis City Charter was amended to read as follows: Section 5B. Voting Method. The elected officers shall be elected by the method of Single Transferable Vote, sometimes know as Ranked Choice Voting or Instant Runoff Voting. The City Council shall, by ordinance, establish the ballot format and rules for counting the votes. The method shall be used for the first municipal election after adoption and all subsequent elections unless the City Council certifies, by ordinance, no later than four months prior to the election, that the City will not be ready to implement the method in that election. Such certification must include the reasons why the City is not ready to implement the method. Minneapolis City Charter, ch. 2,

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