Take Action Against MEGA, a Bad Idea

Congress is considering the "Make Elections Great Again" Act, which would federalize elections at a level not contemplated by the Constitution. Here is an article from the Cato Institute explaining the case against this bill.

There is something you can do! The following is reprinted from FairVote:

The MEGA Act (H.R. 7300) creates a new set of anti-voter laws for federal elections, including banning RCV. Five jurisdictions already use ranked choice voting in federal elections - Alaska, Maine, Hawaii, Georgia and Washington, D.C. Voters in these states - and every state - should be able to elect their representatives in the manner they deem best, including using ranked choice voting and proportional representation.

So please - take a moment to write to your members of Congress imploring them to stop the MEGA Act and speak out against this attack on voting rights.

Click Here to Contact Your Elected Leaders

Contacting your representative and asking them to protect Ranked Choice Voting is the most effective action you can take today. Every voice counts, and together, we can fight for a more representative democracy. 

How Vote Splitting May Have Affected
the SD-9 Special Election

There's been a lot of talk about the runoff in the special election for Texas Senate District 9.  But we have not seen anyone pointing out (1) that the runoff would not have been needed if Texas used Instant Runoff Voting for special elections; and (2) there's a good chance the Republican, Leigh Wambsganss, would have won if IRV had been used.

In the November 2025 election, Republicans earned 62,347 votes to the Democrat's 56,565. Had IRV been in place, and if John Huffman's voters would have chosen the other Republican as their second choice, Wambsganss would have won.

Would the election have turned out differently with Instant Runoff Voting? We can't know for sure. But we can say with certainty that the Texas and Tarrant County taxpayers would not have had to pay for the runoff election; and constituents would have had their State Senator in place three months earlier.

March Primaries Promise Runoffs

The March 2026 midterm primary elections are less than a month away, and many positions are crowded with candidates.

Although voters always benefit from a variety of candidates, crowded primaries have their risks: vote splitting and the likelihood of a costly, low turnout primary runoff election.

Vote splitting occurs when three or more candidates compete and two candidates, who share some similarity, draw votes away from each other. This prevents any one candidate from achieving a majority, ensuring a runoff in Texas.

The primary races in Texas that have three or more candidates running this March are:

• State Senators, Republican:
  • Districts 5, 19, and 22
• State Representatives, Republican:  
  • Districts 5, 10, 40, 41, 70, 71, 76, 89, 94, 98, 106, 112, 118, 126 and 138
• State Representatives, Democrat:  
  • Districts 17, 37, 41, 49, 50, 97, 100, 120, 125, 131, 142, 144, and 149

Even though Texas requires a primary winner to receive at least 50% of the votes to win, those races that result in a runoff will not likely end up with 50% of the original primary votes due to historically low turnouts in runoffs.

Unfortunately, in competitive primaries, candidates often depend on negative attacks to gain an advantage, which may further damage their chances, and those of their party, in the general election.

Instant runoff voting (IRV) is an alternative - promoting majority rule without the hassle or expense of runoff elections. It can curb party infighting that turns off many voters. Candidates are motivated to run more positive campaigns to become the second choice of their opponents’ supporters.

Instant runoff voting strengthens parties by channeling competition in a healthier way, uniting voters behind stronger nominees.

From: Fair Vote article

Become Engaged

Primaries Provide an Excellent Chance
to Connect with Voters About IRV

Primary Election Day will be held on March 3, and early voting will be February 17-27. As voters show up at the polls, the opportunity arises to educate these voters about our proposal to improve our election processes with Instant Runoff Voting.

We can go to the polls on these days and inform voters about the benefits of IRV and how they can help IRV for Texas achieve those benefits. If you would like to join us, please click the link below.

Please join us in our efforts to educate voters about Instant Runoff Voting. Play your part and persuade your legislature to make it a reality.

We Need Social Media Volunteers!

Social media provides the best way to get in touch with most voters and potential voters today. This is a resource we have barely tapped into and really need someone who is proficient here to help us get the word out about all things instant runoff voting.

• If you are a social media user, we need you. IRVforTexas is looking for volunteers to post to and/or manage our social media accounts.

                 If you are interested, please contact Mary Beth Gilbert.

• If you are an experienced Canva user, we need you.

                 If you are interested, please contact Mary Beth Gilbert.

IRVforTexas Relies on Donations
to Spread the Word about IRV

There are so many people who either haven't heard about IRV or have received misinformation about it. Reaching those people takes resources and time, but it is definitely something worth pursuing.

Please consider making a one-time or recurring monthly donation to help ensure that our work to improve Texas elections can continue.

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