NOTN- Juneau’s proposal to adopt ranked choice voting in municipal elections is headed for another public hearing in November.
Deputy City Manager Robert Barr said the Assembly held its first hearing on the measure last night and advanced it to the Nov. 3 meeting.
“We had our first public hearing on it last night.” Said Barr, “an information release went out yesterday as well to help people understand how it would work in local elections.”
Under the proposal, voters could rank candidates in single-seat races, like for mayor or assembly. If no one wins a majority outright, the lowest-ranked candidates are eliminated and ballots are redistributed until one candidate secures over 50 percent.
The change would not apply to multimember races, like the school board, which would stay under the current system.
Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon said testimony so far has been split for and against the proposal.
“We had four people, two for it and two against it.” Said Weldon,”We’re keeping that on our radar.”
The city is weighing potential benefits and considerations, saying ranked- choice voting could add more consistency for voters and may increase the number of people willing to run for office, however they also note transitioning to a new election process could be difficult on voters and election staff, and counting could be more complex than the current voting system.
