14.
City Council Work Session
- Meeting Date:
- 06/30/2020
- From:
- Stacy Saltzburg, City Clerk
TITLE
Citizen Petition - Fair Voting for Flagstaff (Ranked Choice Voting)
STAFF RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Council Discussion
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Citizen Petition #2019-03 was received on October 28, 2019, asking the Flagstaff City Council to "implement a more fair election system, called Ranked Choice Voting."
Council's Future Agenda Item Request (F.A.I.R.) discussion on November 20, 2019 advanced the petition to a future agenda for discussion and possible direction by the City Council.
Council's Future Agenda Item Request (F.A.I.R.) discussion on November 20, 2019 advanced the petition to a future agenda for discussion and possible direction by the City Council.
INFORMATION:
The citizen petition referenced website www.fairvote.org for more information.
According to www.fairchoice.org
Ranked choice voting (RCV) describes voting systems that allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, and then uses those rankings to elect candidates who best represent their constituents.
RCV is straightforward for voters: rank candidates in order of choice. Voters can rank as many candidates as they want, without fear that ranking others will hurt the chances of their favorite candidate.
How the votes are counted depends on whether RCV is used to elect a single office, like a mayor or governor, or whether it is used to elect more than one position at once, like an at-large city council or a state legislature elected in a multi-winner district.
RCV for Single-Winner Offices (also known as Instant Runoff Voting / IRV)
For a single office, like for a mayor or governor, RCV helps to elect a candidate who reflects a majority of voters in a single election even when several viable candidates are in the race. It does this by counting the votes in rounds.
Voters pick a first-choice candidate and have the option to rank backup candidates in order of their choice: second, third, and so on. If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, that candidate wins, just like in any other election. However, if there is no majority winner after counting first choices, the race is decided by an "instant runoff." The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who picked that candidate as ‘number 1’ will have their votes count for their next choice. This process continues until a candidate wins with more than half of the votes.
RCV for Multi-Winner Elections (also known as Single Transferable Vote / STV)
Ranked choice voting can be used in multi-winner elections, like a city council elected at-large, a state legislature elected in a multi-winner district, or even the US House of Representatives.
Multi-winner RCV is a fair representation voting system, meaning it gives like-minded voters the chance to win legislative seats in proportion to their share of the population.
With multi-winner ranked choice voting, candidates who receive a certain share of votes will be elected; this share of votes is called the threshold. The threshold is intended to be the smallest number which guarantees that no more candidates can reach the threshold than the number of seats to be filled.
A candidate who reaches the threshold is elected, and any excess votes over the threshold are then counted for the voters’ second choices. Then, after excess votes are counted, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and voters who picked that candidate as ‘number 1’ will have their votes count for their next choice. This process continues until all seats are filled.
CITY OF FLAGSTAFF CONSIDERATIONS:
Ranked Choice Voting is not a form of voting supported by Arizona Election Law.
Shifting to Ranked Choice Voting would require a Charter change.
Ranked Choice Voting may compromise our contract with Coconino County Elections and the City of Flagstaff would be responsible for conducting our own elections. Conducting our own election would require purchasing our own election equipment, hiring additional staff, and facilitating all election operations previously performed by the County.
According to www.fairchoice.org
Ranked choice voting (RCV) describes voting systems that allow voters to rank candidates in order of preference, and then uses those rankings to elect candidates who best represent their constituents.
RCV is straightforward for voters: rank candidates in order of choice. Voters can rank as many candidates as they want, without fear that ranking others will hurt the chances of their favorite candidate.
How the votes are counted depends on whether RCV is used to elect a single office, like a mayor or governor, or whether it is used to elect more than one position at once, like an at-large city council or a state legislature elected in a multi-winner district.
RCV for Single-Winner Offices (also known as Instant Runoff Voting / IRV)
For a single office, like for a mayor or governor, RCV helps to elect a candidate who reflects a majority of voters in a single election even when several viable candidates are in the race. It does this by counting the votes in rounds.
Voters pick a first-choice candidate and have the option to rank backup candidates in order of their choice: second, third, and so on. If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, that candidate wins, just like in any other election. However, if there is no majority winner after counting first choices, the race is decided by an "instant runoff." The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who picked that candidate as ‘number 1’ will have their votes count for their next choice. This process continues until a candidate wins with more than half of the votes.
RCV for Multi-Winner Elections (also known as Single Transferable Vote / STV)
Ranked choice voting can be used in multi-winner elections, like a city council elected at-large, a state legislature elected in a multi-winner district, or even the US House of Representatives.
Multi-winner RCV is a fair representation voting system, meaning it gives like-minded voters the chance to win legislative seats in proportion to their share of the population.
With multi-winner ranked choice voting, candidates who receive a certain share of votes will be elected; this share of votes is called the threshold. The threshold is intended to be the smallest number which guarantees that no more candidates can reach the threshold than the number of seats to be filled.
A candidate who reaches the threshold is elected, and any excess votes over the threshold are then counted for the voters’ second choices. Then, after excess votes are counted, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and voters who picked that candidate as ‘number 1’ will have their votes count for their next choice. This process continues until all seats are filled.
CITY OF FLAGSTAFF CONSIDERATIONS:
Ranked Choice Voting is not a form of voting supported by Arizona Election Law.
Shifting to Ranked Choice Voting would require a Charter change.
Ranked Choice Voting may compromise our contract with Coconino County Elections and the City of Flagstaff would be responsible for conducting our own elections. Conducting our own election would require purchasing our own election equipment, hiring additional staff, and facilitating all election operations previously performed by the County.