Ranked Voting on Ballot in Ft. Collins

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Photo by Flickr user beej55

In Fort Collins, you can get elected mayor or become a city council member without a majority of the vote. Say there 10 candidates in a race. The one with the most votes wins, no matter how small the percentage. There’s a proposal on Tuesday’s ballot to change that. It would set up ranked voting. That means voters in Fort Collins would pick their top candidate and select a number two, number three, and so on. The first time around, if someone doesn’t get a majority, the lowest-ranked candidate drops off; and people’s votes are re-allocated until someone reaches a majority. Ryan Warner speaks with Eric Fried, one of the organizers behind the ballot measure and Rudy Zitti, chairman of Citizens Against Ranked Voting.