Named “L'étoile du Nord flag” by its creator, the flag features a snowflake and a directional (north) star on a blue background, paying tribute to Minnesota’s weather, geographical position, and lakes respectively.
Using ranked choice voting is a fun and fair way to let the people of Minnesota weigh in on the selection of our state’s new flag. At the close of voting this morning, more than 12,000 people cast their vote by ranking the state flags in the order they liked them. Under RCV, the winning candidate must have a majority of votes (50% + 1).
In the first round, F29 had the most votes with 4,678 of ballots. They breakdown by percent (rounded) as follows:
- F29 with 39%
- F944 with 31%
- F1953 with 15%
- F2100 with 12%
- F1435 with 3%%
- F1154 with 1%
Round by round, the flags with the lowest support were eliminated and reallocated based on the next choices on those ballots. F29 and F944 remained the top two contenders in each round, with F29 emerging the winner with 6,542 votes or 55.3% overall support!
F944 came in a close second place in the final round. The author explained about the design: “This design pays tribute to Minnesota’s diverse and dynamic landscape, with wisps of snow, clouds, and aurora reflected by pristine, bending waters, and a guiding, four-pointed North Star inspired by the symbols and astronomy of Dakota and Ojibwe tribes.”
