CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- One Chicago Alderman is calling on the City Council to strongly consider using so-called "ranked voting elections" for Mayoral and Aldermanic elections.
Evanston voters will use ranked voting for Mayor and City Council members in 2025. New York City has recently used it. 47th Ward Alderman Matt Martin says voting that way could be better for the voters and the City, and he’s filed an ordinance to possibly give it a try in Chicago.
Instead of voting for one candidate in a race, you could vote for more of them in the order in which you like them. If one candidate casts more than 50 percent—Martin said—the election is over.
If no one gets 50 percent, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and all the second place votes are redistributed and you repeat that until someone tops 50 percent.
Could the City’s vote counting systems handle such intricacies? Martin said that's why he wants to hold hearings…to answer such questions, but he said the method would save money and there would be no costly runoff elections.
"Really, we would have a four year period and looking to the 2027 election to figure out a lot of these logistics, including technology. We'll talk to places like New York who have implemented this recently and I think relatively successfully," Martin explained.
"There might have been a few hiccups."
Martin’s proposed ordinance has been sent to the rules committee…sometimes a graveyard for legislation, but he said he’s been assured a hearing.
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