Sunday Poll: Should St. Louis Consider Ranked-Choice Voting?

When you have two candidates running for office it is easy to understand the winner — the person who receives more than 50% of the vote — even if by just one vote.

I’m looking at the March 7th Democratic primary ballot with 7 choices for mayor and 6 choices for alderman in my ward — it’s highly unlikely the winner of either race will get more than 35% of the vote. In other cities, this would require a runoff vote among the top candidates until one receives a majority of the votes.

In lieu of holding runoff  elections some cities use instant runoff voting — candidates are ranked by voters to pick a winner with a majority of votes. This voting method has pros & cons:

Pros

1. No need for expensive runoff elections.
2. Politicians tend to adopt a more civil tone in campaigns.
3. Enough with the strategy games.
4. Majority wins.

Cons

1. Many cities do not have the proper equipment to count the ballots.
2. It’s confusing.
3. Elections for multiple positions become complex.
4. Voters need to know their stuff.

What do you think, should we try it? Vote in the poll below.

The poll will close at 8pm.

— Steve Patterson