NOW is the time!!!

If it seems difficult to keep up with all the elections Texas has had lately, you are not alone! And another one is looming - on May 26, 2026, every county in Texas will be holding runoffs for the March 3 primary, including US Senator (GOP), various House seats (GOP and Dems), Texas Lieutenant Governor (Dems), and Texas Attorney General (GOP and Dems), among others.

These runoff elections could have been avoided if Texas allowed instant runoff voting.  Runoffs cost taxpayers and candidates time and money. Had instant runoff voting been allowed, the taxpayers of Harris County would have saved $1.6 million for the January 31 Congressional District 18 runoff election, AND residents in CD 18 would have had a representative in the US House three months earlier.

Considering the interest in the current races on May 26, NOW is an opportune time to spread the word that instant runoff voting is a better, cheaper and faster alternative to runoffs. We are looking for volunteers to canvass at polling locations in May to educate voters that there IS a better way to run elections.

Canvassing Training. IRV for Texas will hold a training session in conjunction with Rank the Vote at 7 pm on May 14, to walk you through how to canvass at a polling location near you. You can sign up here.

Canvassing Toolkit. Ready to canvass now? You do not have to attend training. Materials can be found in our Canvassing Toolkit, and include a flyer, a script, a volunteer signup sheet, and a sign to put on the back of a clipboard. If you have any questions, call (731) 515-2251 or email Mary Beth Gilbert or simply register for the Zoom session above.

Volunteering a few hours in May can go a long way toward spreading the word about instant runoff voting and ultimately help us persuade Texas legislators to authorize the use of instant runoff voting in jurisdictions that want to use it.

Important Dates to Remember

Texas primary runoff elections - those pesky runoff elections we are trying to make go away.

May 18-22: Primary Runoff Early Voting

May 26: Primary Runoff Election Day

• If you voted in the Republican Party Primary, you must vote in the Republican Party Runoff.
• If you voted in the Democratic Party Primary, you must vote in the Democratic Party Runoff.
• If you did not vote in either Party Primary, you may vote in either Party Runoff.
  
  

RCV Myths EXPOSED

In a paper titled "Shaky political "science" misses mark on ranked choice voting", the quality and credibility of scholarly research about ranked choice voting (RCV) is assessed. Forty-one studies are reviewed, many of which have been cited in public debates over RCV reforms. The authors found that studies grounded in real-world election data tended to be most reliable, while research critiquing RCV more often relied on survey methods and mathematical models - approaches they argue fail to capture actual electoral behavior.

Due to the paper’s length of 38 pages, we will be breaking it into separate studies and featuring then individually in this section of the newsletter over the coming months. The first study was described in April’s newsletter.

The second study is called "Voter Information Search and Ranked Choice Voting". Here the author used survey data to replicate an election, instead of real-world data from a real-world election. This study is based on a false assumption. It presumes that voters in a RCV election need to do more research on candidates before they vote than in other electoral systems because it assumes that RCV is complex. This assumption exposes a lack of familiarity with other electoral systems. The study, like most critical analyses of RCV, never addresses how its own critique applies even more strongly to those alternatives.

For more information on this particular study or the complete paper, click on the links above in this article.

Find Your Voice!

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. Young voters are an untapped constituency and are plugged into all social media platforms. 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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