| Elise Haas | KOIN.com |
PORTLAND, Ore. ( KOIN ) – This fall, voters will get to decide on a proposal to change Portland’s form of government, which would include 12 city councilors from newly-elected districts through ranked choice voting.
Senior fellow at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University, Stephanie Singer, who specializes in data science of elections, told KOIN 6 News, “Ranked choice voting can really change the game for the voters, for the parties, and for the candidates.”
“It’s really natural for people who got elected in the current system not to be as excited about changes to the current system,” she said.
”It lets the voter have their cake and eat it, too.
Ranked choice voting is an alternative way for citizens to vote for who they’d like to represent them in office. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank their preferences, instead of only choosing one representative.
Singer said the pros of ranked choice voting is that it gives voters more choices. You can vote the same way as always by selecting your favorite candidate only, or you can rank your preferences, which she says leads to better representation because it will always elect the candidate with the broadest appeal to the most number of voters.
“Ranked choice voting does not force anything on the voters, but it gives voters more choices,” Singer said. “So, it lets the voter have their cake and eat it, too.”
Portland’s version would have three winners per district race, which makes it more complicated. Meanwhile, Multnomah County is still finalizing their changes. But if the Charter Commission approves it, it would also be on the November ballot.
