Hi Friend,
Tomorrow is Election Day, and it will be a great day for ranked choice voting (RCV)!
RCV is having its moment right now!
Our President & CEO Rob Richie was just interviewed by CNBC, explaining how it gives voters more of
a say in their elections.
The largest city in the country, New York City, is about to decide on whether to use RCV for its primaries and special elections starting in 2021.
Easthampton, MA voters will also be voting tomorrow on whether to implement RCV for it elections, starting in 2021.
Eleven cities in eight states -- a record total for a single day -- are using RCV to conduct their elections:
- Las Cruces, the second largest city in New Mexico, will have the freedom to rank their preferred candidates for the first time tomorrow.
- St. Louis Park, MN city council voted unanimously to adopt RCV, and now, the city will use it for the first time in its city council and mayoral elections thanks to FairVote Minnesota’s efforts to educate voters.
- The Eastpointe, MI city council voted to adopt a proportional representation form of RCV in response to a DOJ Voting Rights Act lawsuit. The city will use multi-winner RCV, to ensure all voters receive fair representation in municipal government.
- Payson and Vineyard, UT opted-in to the statewide RCV local option legislation pilot program that passed with bi-partisan support in May 2018, and will forgo their traditional primaries and instead implement an RCV election.
- San Francisco, CA has used RCV to elect mayoral and municipal elections since 2004, where it has been correlated with increased candidate diversity and voter turnout. This year’s municipal elections—headlined by a heavily scrutinized District Attorney race—will feature an upgraded ballot that will allow voters to rank up to 10 candidates.
- Portland, the largest city in Maine, a state that has taken the lead on adopting RCV, has used ranked ballots for its mayoral elections since 2011.
- Cambridge, MA has used the at-large form of RCV, an American form of proportional representation to elect its nine-seat City Council and six-seat School Committee since 1941. The continued use of RCV has led to fair representation for women and people of color in the city and, as usual, the elections are highly competitive.
- Santa Fe, NM held its first mayoral and city council elections in 2018 with RCV. The city saw turnout surge for a mayoral elections, and will use it again tomorrow for the city council race.
- When Telluride, CO adopted RCV in mayoral races that featured more than two candidates in 2008, it ushered in “a new era of collective problem-solving” in the town.
- Minnesota’s second-largest city, St. Paul, will utilize RCV in its city council elections, which feature more than two dozen candidates.
Never before have so many voters been given the opportunity to express their voice and choice, and we want to keep the momentum rolling. That’s where YOU come in, Friend.
Amplify our message on Twitter and Facebook by retweeting and sharing our content!
2019 has been an outstanding year
for RCV -- and let’s make 2020 even better. Voters deserve a voice.
Voters deserve a choice. Join us in our fight for a better
democracy.
Sincerely,
Team FairVote
http://www.fairvote.org/