IRV bill passes Senate committee

Sen. Jeanette White's Government Operations Committee passed the IRV bill this morning in a 3-2 vote, a decision that fell on party lines.

"This was the vote we expected," said the Windham County senator. "The members who voted against it did so because they disagreed with the concept, not the details."

The bill - which calls for instant run-off voting to be used in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate races starting next year - now heads to the full Senate, which is expected to debate the issue Friday.

It's fate is not clear yet, despite that Secretary of State Deb Markowitz has said her office could implement the bill as written.

-Dan Barlow