What is ranked choice voting?
“You rank your candidates in order of preferences, the one with the least amount of votes gets eliminated, their second choice votes get reallocated to all the other candidates, and then you eliminate again, and you keep doing that until you have a victor,” University of Utah professor Erik Snowberg said.
Heber City first used the voting method in 2021. In February, the Heber City Council decided it will use ranked choice for the upcoming election this fall, when three councilmembers will be selected.
Earlier this year, Park City Councilmember Max Doilney requested a study session on if ranked choice voting could work for local elections. Park City Recorder Michelle Kellogg said the council will research ranked choice voting after the 2023 election. She said they plan to study ranked choice voting with the help of the cities that have used it, in addition to authorities like the Summit County clerk and Lieutenant Governor’s Office, which oversees elections statewide.
There is no need for a primary election with ranked choice voting. Snowberg said ranked choice can have political implications too.
“It doesn’t necessarily cause people to run to the center, but it does tend to cut down the incentives for being negative to other candidates,” he said. “So you wouldn’t necessarily slag on somebody, because you want their first choice voters to think of you as being a reasonable second choice.”
According to FairVote, a nonprofit that advocates for electoral reform, 51 American jurisdictions use ranked choice voting, including two states, three counties, and 46 cities. 12 of those cities are in Utah, which leads the country.
A big reason why has to do with a law former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed in 2018, which established a pilot program for cities to try ranked choice voting.
And reviews have been mixed. Former Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swenson said they grossly underestimated the time and energy needed for a switch to ranked choice. Sandy Mayor Monica Zoltanski said their previous election with eight candidates resulted in voter confusion.
Aspen voters approved ranked choice voting in 2007, and three years later overturned that decision due to logistical frustrations.
A voter survey after Heber’s 2021 election found a majority were in favor of the new method.
