On Local Government – A better way to vote
by Bob Pinzler
On the March 7 Redondo Beach general election ballot are a group of measures designed, for the most part, to update a document first written in 1949. Of those, one of them would be impactful on the way we select our elected officials.
In 1949, the good burghers of the city decided for someone to be elected, they needed to receive over 50 percent of the vote. If none of the candidates received over 50 percent, the winner would be decided by a runoff between the top two finishers.
While most cities use a “first past the post” system, the thinking behind the Redondo system was that a majority of the electorate should choose their officials. As a Redondo Council candidate in a 1993 runoff, I found it a cumbersome system. It meant running two full elections six weeks apart. For the city, it meant paying for two elections, including all the printed materials.
In most cases when this has occurred in Redondo, the turnout for the runoff is smaller than the original election. People just get tired of voting.
New systems have emerged as an alternative to runoffs. One alternative, which is on the March 7 ballot, is ‘ranked choice’ voting. Voters select their candidates in the order of preference. (By the way, you don’t have to vote for anyone else, but, as you will see, that decision may have an impact.)
If none of the candidates get 50 percent, the one with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their supporters’ second choices are credited to the remaining candidates.
This elimination continues until someone gets the majority. Therefore, if you only vote for one candidate, and that candidate doesn’t receive a majority, you no longer have a voice in the selection of the official. Your blank ballot will also lower the number of votes needed to reach a majority. But, that’s your call.
This system has been used in California municipal elections as well as in federal and state elections in places such as Alaska and Maine. While it took a while to determine the winner, there was no additional expense for making that choice.
There have been some issues with this process. In the initial use of this system in Alameda County in Northern California, in an election with nine candidates, it wasn’t until the sixth round that anyone got a majority. And, that candidate had never led any of the previous rounds.
This doesn’t delegitimize the victory, but it does show how important it is to complete the list of choices, no matter if you are electing what you might call the “lesser of two evils.” Someone other than your chosen candidate is going to win. You might as well have a say in the result. ER