| Patti Epler | Honolulu Civil Beat |
Honolulu voters are being asked to fundamentally change the way top city officials are elected in a major overhaul of the election system envisioned to give more candidates a better chance at public office and more voters the opportunity to decide who’s running the city.
”Someone has to move first
Question No. 5 on Oʻahu ballots in the Nov. 3 election asks if the city should switch to a ranked choice voting system for mayor, City Council and prosecuting attorney. It would allow voters to consider as many as five candidates for each office in a single November election, when voter turnout is often double the number of people who vote in the August primary.
“Someone has to move first,” Commissioner Trey Gordner told fellow commissioners in July when they voted 10-3 to move forward with the proposal. “I think it falls on the city to move first. It falls on voters to be clear that this is what they want, and for the state to react to that.”