Ranked-choice voting

Ruth Lee // Published July 31, 2008 in Kansas City Star

I agree that apathy is a major reason people don’t vote (7/27, A-1). One way to change this is through a new method of voting that has been adopted in other U.S. cities such as San Francisco and Minneapolis. In this system, voters rank their choices in order of preference: first, second, third and so on.

This method of voting can increase voter turnout because every vote counts, even if the voter’s first-choice candidate is defeated. It also prevents the need for runoff elections like those held for Kansas City council and mayoral elections. This could save Kansas City huge sums of money.

There is a group working to bring ranked- choice voting to Kansas City. For more information, please see www.rankmyvotekc.org

Ruth Lee
Kansas City