Press Release: Bloomington City Council Puts Ranked Choice Voting on the Ballot
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BLOOMINGTON CITY COUNCIL PUTS RANKED CHOICE VOTING ON THE BALLOT
Voters Will Decide Whether to Use Ranked Choice Voting to Elect Mayor, City Council
Bloomington, MN (July 28, 2020) -- At the Bloomington City Council meeting last night, the Council voted 6-1 to put Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) on the ballot for Bloomington voters. In November, voters will decide whether they want to use RCV to elect the Mayor and City Council Members starting in 2021.
Council Member Jenna Carter, a leading voice on this issue, moved the resolution to put RCV on the ballot noting that “2020 is the year, and I support moving forward.” The measure was seconded by Council Member Dwayne Lowman.
Ranked Choice Voting for Bloomington organizers Laura Calbone and Marcia Wattson applaud leaders on the City Council and the people of Bloomington for providing the impetus for the City Council to act.
“The City Council showed leadership in recognizing and acting on the need to let Bloomington voters decide how they elect their local leaders,” said Wattson, “The City envisions an engaged community that values diversity, equity, and inclusion in the process of choosing our representatives.”
“We’ve talked to hundreds of voters in the last year who like RCV because it is simpler than the current primary-general election system, gives voters more choice, and can help mitigate negative campaigning, partisanship and polarization that are starting to affect our local elections,” added Calbone, “It’s time for voters to feel empowered at the polls.”
Council members last night acknowledged overwhelming input from voters that they wanted RCV on the ballot this November.
Further, Deputy City Manager Kris Wilson highlighted the cost savings RCV would provide by eliminating the primary.
Council Member Nathan Coulter noted the low turnout in Bloomington local primary elections, where only 5-11% of eligible voters cast a ballot. “Are we really saying we shouldn’t try for better than 7% turnout?”
If adopted, RCV would mean one election in November when voter turnout is higher and more representative of Bloomington’s diverse community.
With RCV, voters would be able to rank the candidates in their order of preference on the November ballot. If a candidate receives a majority (50% +1) of first-choice votes, that candidate wins. If not, then the least popular candidate is eliminated and the voters who chose that candidate have their vote allocated to their second choice. That process continues until one candidate receives a majority of continuing ballots.
Bloomington Rep. Steve Elkins has sponsored legislation to expand the option to use RCV to all local jurisdictions that want to use it in Minnesota.
Bloomington will be one of several RCV ballot measures this November. RCV will also be on the ballot in Eureka, CA and Burlington, VT for local elections and in Massachusetts, Alaska, North Dakota and Arkansas for state and federal races.
Two dozen cities across the country currently use or are pending implementation of RCV in California, Maryland, Michigan, Oregon, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Maine and Minnesota (Minneapolis, St. Paul and St. Louis Park). In addition, several southern states (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) use RCV for military and overseas voters. Maine became the first state to use RCV in 2018 and will be using it for presidential elections starting this year. Other major democracies around the world using RCV include Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Australia, and New Zealand.
Information about Ranked Choice Voting for Bloomington can be found at https://www.rcvbloomington.org/, including FAQs and Common Myths.
RCV Bloomington is supported by FairVote Minnesota, an organization that works for better democracy through public education and advocating for voting systems that lead to greater competitiveness, better representation and more participation.
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