FORT COLLINS — Voters on Tuesday will be asked to change the way the mayor and City Council members will be elected, a move opponents say is cumbersome and unnecessary.
But supporters of ranked voting — or instant-runoff voting — say the method encourages voter turnout and forces candidates to focus more on issues and to create coalitions.
Ranked voting is a good shot in the arm for democracy, said Marc Sanson, who is leading the effort in Fort Collins.
“People can go to the polls and cast a vote for who they truly believe in,” he said.
If the measure passes, ranked voting would be used in future mayoral and council elections that include more than three candidates. Fort Collins now uses the winner-takes- all plurality system.
Under the proposed system, voters would rank candidates in their preferred order: 1,2,3 and so on.
It would take a majority — 50 percent plus one — to win. If a majority of voters rank a candidate first, that candidate is elected. If not, the last- place candidate is eliminated and all ballots are counted again.
This time around, votes for the defeated candidate are added to the total of the next-ranked candidate on each ballot. The process continues until one candidate receives a majority of the votes, according to Fort Collins Ranked Voting.
Supporters say this method makes candidates concentrate on the issues and different groups because they may need second- and third-choice votes to win.
Opponents have said it’s confusing to voters.
But Sanson said ranked voting is used every day. Ranked voting is used in Ireland and Australia as well as in San Francisco, Oakland, San Leandro and Berkeley, Calif.; Minneapolis; and Takoma Park, Md.
This year, the Academy Awards used ranked voting to select the Best Picture winner.
Fort Collins Ranked Voting is endorsed by the League of Women Voters, the Northern Colorado Labor Council, Colorado State University College Democrats and the Poudre Valley Green Party.
However, Rudy Zitti — who has locally spoken out against ranked voting — said several cities that tried ranked voting, including Aspen, gave it up.
Fort Collins’ current system has worked well, without controversy, for about a decade, Zitti said.
“I don’t see a lot of people lining up at the city clerk’s office demanding a change,” he said.
He also said ranked voting increases a chance that a “fringe” candidate will be elected, even though that person did not get the majority of votes.
“I go into the voting booth with my own values and principles, and I usually vote for the candidate I chose,” Zitti said. “I don’t want to be put in the position of ranking a second or third choice, especially if I don’t want them in office.”
Monte Whaley: 720-929-0907 or mwhaley@denverpost.com
