PRESS RELEASE: Minnetonka Voters Will Decide Whether to Keep Ranked Choice Voting or Revert Back to the Old Primary System to Elect Mayor and City Council
For Immediate Release
Contact: Barb Westmoreland, Campaign Co-Chair, Minnetonka Vote NO on Repeal - Save Ranked Choice Voting, barb.westmoreland@yahoo.com, 952-935-5180
Minnetonka, MN (September 11, 2023) -- Minnetonka residents will vote on a ballot question this fall to repeal Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and revert back to the old two-step municipal primary system in place prior to 2020.
Prior to the adoption of RCV in 2020, Minnetonka held a city primary in August anytime there were more than two candidates on the ballot, and then held a second general election in November with the top two candidates from the primary. From 1985 to 2020, a municipal primary was required in 10 out of 18 municipal elections, each of which, according to the city, cost taxpayers between $40,000 and $60,000 to administer. Very few of the city's voters showed up to vote in those August primaries, typically only five percent, and that tiny slice of the electorate would decide which candidates advanced to the general election ballot, preventing the larger voter pool in November from weighing in on all the candidates.
In 2020, seeking to change a system that discouraged so many voters from participating, a group of Minnetonka residents organized to bring ranked choice voting to Minnetonka, and the city council voted to place the question on the ballot. In November 2020, a high turnout presidential election, 54.7% of Minnetonka voters approved of ranked choice voting for mayor and city council elections.
Now, less than three years later and after holding just one ranked-choice election, RCV opponents are forcing Minnetonka residents to vote on RCV again, this time in a low-turnout, off-year election. A group of Minnetonka residents and democracy advocates, led by Barb Westmoreland and Mary Pat Blake, have launched a Vote No campaign to educate Minnetonka voters, fight the repeal and save ranked choice voting.
“I feel a deep sense of responsibility to protect our local democracy, and ranked choice voting has made our local elections more inclusive, representative, and cost-effective,” said Barb Westmoreland. She added, “We have dozens of volunteers and hundreds of supporters who are helping us get the word out about this important question on the city ballot, and we are encouraging everyone to vote NO to save RCV.”
Ranked choice voting empowers voters to rank candidates in order of preference (first choice, second choice, third choice) and ensures winners with a majority in a single, decisive and cost-effective election. RCV eliminates the need for high-cost, low-turnout municipal primary elections, saves the expense of those primaries and allows more candidates to run and voters to participate in a single, decisive election in November, when turnout is higher and more representative of the community.
“Minnetonka’s first ranked-choice election in 2021 was a huge success,” explained Vote No Campaign Co-Chair Mary Pat Blake. “Minnetonka had 12 candidates running for three offices, the most candidates ever for a Minnetonka City Council election, and voter turnout increased dramatically: 52% higher than the average for general city council elections since 1985.”
“RCV opens up city elections to encourage more candidates to run, and that greater choice and competition, in turn, encourages Minnetonka residents to turnout and vote,” she explained. “Why would we revert back to the old system which was more expensive and had the effect of excluding voters and candidates?” she asked. “RCV is simply better for our city.”
Senator Kelly Morrison (SD 45) who represents the northern half of Minnetonka in the state senate authored a bill last session to expand RCV to state and federal elections and give more cities the option of using this reform. “Ranked choice voting is an antidote to so much of the divisiveness that is threatening our democracy. It encourages broad coalition building, discourages negative campaigning, and gets rid of the spoiler problem,” Sen. Morrison explained. “It is exactly what we need in this moment for a stronger democracy.”
Senator Steve Cwodzinski (SD 49), representing the southern half of Minnetonka in the state senate and co-author of the RCV bill, explained why he is an enthusiastic supporter of the campaign to save ranked choice voting in Minnetonka: “Ranked choice voting adds a dose of civility to campaigns and allows our elections to focus on what we can do together, rather than tearing each other apart. RCV is a step in that direction, and we must do everything we can to keep that progress moving forward –– not only for us, but also for our children and grandchildren.”
“Ranked choice voting is a key solution to the increasing polarization and dysfunction in our political system that, unfortunately, is also affecting our local elections,” explained University of Minnesota Professor Michael Minta. It is a reform promoted by business leaders and democracy experts. In June 2020, the bipartisan Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, a project of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, recommended RCV as a key reform to strengthen our democracy.
Over 50 jurisdictions across the country use ranked choice voting, including five cities in Minnesota as well as the states of Maine and Alaska, and we know from polling here in Minnesota and around the country that voters consistently say that RCV is simple to use, and that they like it and want to keep using it.
By voting NO on repeal the city’s voters will save RCV in Minnetonka, reject an attempt to circumvent the majority of voters in an off-year election, and reinforce the democracy reform movement in Minnesota and across the country.
Key organizations, current and former elected officials, and community leaders from across the political spectrum are actively supporting the Vote NO on Repeal Campaign. See the full list of supporters at rcvminnetonka.org/supporters.
In addition to the city question on RCV, Minnetonka voters will use ranked choice voting to elect the city’s four ward councilmember seats. Voters can rank as many candidates as they like from their favorite to least favorite: first choice, second choice, third choice. If their favorite candidate doesn’t have enough first-choice votes to win and is eliminated, their ballot will continue to count for their second choice and help decide who is elected. You can find out more about the city council races and ranked choice voting at https://www.minnetonkamn.gov/government/elections and rankyourvote.org/minnetonka.
Minnetonka Vote NO on Repeal Campaign Co-Chairs Barb Westmoreland (barb.westmoreland@yahoo.com, 952-935-5180) and Mary Pat Blake are available for interviews. Contact Barb Westmoreland to schedule.
More information about Ranked Choice Voting can be found at https://www.rcvminnetonka.org/ and RankYourVote.org.
The Vote No on Repeal Campaign to Save RCV is supported by the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting Minnetonka.
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