Sex and the City (Election)

To paraphrase a friend: to make Instant Runoff Voting sexy, you have to add, well, sex. That seemed to be the thinking behind the recent Better Ballot Campaign fundraiser that featured a burlesque revue, booze, and tours of the Hennepin History Museum’s show Hips, Pips, and Strips: A Revealing History of Burlesque in Hennepin County. In their new animated short, the campaign tones down the seduction but keeps the fun: it borrows The Dating Game‘s format to compare our hundred-year-old voting method and Instant Runoff Voting (IRV).

adMN is an ongoing review of communications created to shape Minnesota’s campaigns and culture.Urging Minneapolis residents to vote “yes” on the November 7 ballot initiative that would allow Instant Runoff Voting in city elections, the short animation stars cartoon 20-something Jenna, who faces two suitors on the game show “Elect-a-Date“–the “old school” ballot that dates back to the 1800s (he reminds me of a stubble-faced lounge singer crossed with the blacksmith at Colonial Williamsburg) and a clean-cut IRV ballot.

Cute, yet earnest, the short makes clear the confusing realm of IRV, a ranked voting method that has brought “huge increases in voter participation and more issues-oriented campaigning” in the cities where it’s already in use, according to the spot. Not quite sexy, it scores points for its Target-meets-Austin Powers illustrations, clear language about an inherently sound-bite-resistant topic, and a relieving degree of Chuck Woolerylessness.

Look for  more on IRV in coming weeks.