Opinion: Ranked-Choice Voting Would Make Democracy Fair, Easy And Fun In San Diego

San Diego CA

19 April, 2022

6:00 PM

Description

By Ismahan Abdullahi | Jeff Marston | Victoria Barba, Times of San Diego April 19, 2022 The More Choice San Diego coalition has filed an initiative with the city of San Diego that makes democracy fair, easy, and fun. This simple change to our election process, known as ranked choice voting, would create an easy-to-use system that saves money and improves voter turnout across the board while leading to the election of more women and people of color, creating a more inclusive democracy. Those are the results in cities where this election reform has already been adopted. The More Choice San Diegoinitiative would advance five candidates, instead of just two, to the general election. It also allows voters the option to rank as many candidates as they like in order of preference: one, two, three, and so forth. If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices in any race, that candidate wins, just like in a traditional 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 their first choice will have their votes count for their second choice. This process continues until there's a majority winner or a candidate won with more than half of the vote. Ranked choice voting has been adopted by several major cities, including New York City, San Francisco and Santa Fe, and statewide in Alaska and Maine. While ranked choice voting increases voter turnout overall, the increase in turnout among African Americans, Latinos, and Asians voters is higher than turnout among the general electorate. This is simple: When there are more candidates on the ballot who speak to voters of color and who voters of color trust, voters have more reason to vote. In New York City, for example, voter turnout in diverse communities soared under ranked choice voting. The More Choice San Diego initiative is the product of consensus among dozens of local organizations, hundreds of community leaders, and stakeholders who represent a wide spectrum of political perspectives. That's because, believe it or not, elections can bring us together. Here's why we're supporting More Choice San Diego: At a time when national and statewide politics have never been more divisive, members of the San Diego More Choice coalition have been working to create this new initiative and rally support for something we can all agree on. Our growing coalition includes Alliance San Diego, League of Women Voters of San Diego, FairVote, Independent Voter Project, Veterans for Political Innovation, Represent Women, and others. Giving voters more choice in November elections is good for democracy because it gives voters a more meaningful vote, it gives candidates a more civil pathway to elected office, it gives elected officials more flexibility to represent more people, and it gives everyone a stronger, healthier democracy. In order to move this initiative forward, we need your support. The More Choice San Diego ballot measure will be considered by the Rules Committee April 20th and if it gets the green light it will then be considered by the full City Council for placement on the November ballot. We hope you join our growing coalition! To do so, or to learn more, please visit MoreChoiceSD.org. San Diego can be at the forefront of a better democracy. That's good for all of us. Ismahan Abdullahi is executive eirector of the Muslim American Society-Public Affairs and Civic Engagement San Diego. Jeff Marston is a board member for the Independent Voter Project. Victoria Barba is Outreach Coordinator for More Choice San Diego. Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.