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The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 City Council killed a proposal Monday night to use ranked choice voting for municipal elections.

Proponents argued that this process would save millions of taxpayer dollars. Meanwhile, opponents said that the new system would confuse voters and that most were not invested enough to research and rank multiple candidates.

Ranked choice voting is already used in municipalities across the country, including locally in Santa Fe and Las Cruces.

鈥淚鈥檓 not calling people dumb or confused,鈥� said Councilor Dan Lewis.

Instead, Lewis argued that the ranked choice system itself is confusing. Lewis pointed to Santa Fe, where even years after implementation, are still unclear on the process. 

Ultimately, the measure was voted down Monday on a 6-3 vote.

Lewis and fellow city councilors Dan Champine, Brooke Bassan, Ren茅e Grout, Joaqu铆n Baca and Council President Klarissa Pe帽a voted against the ordinance. Councilors Nichole Rogers, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Stephanie Telles voted in favor of ranked choice voting.

How it works

In the current system, citizens vote for one candidate and must return to the polls if neither candidate wins at least 50% of the vote. If adopted, ranked choice voting would have enact this process instantaneously.

If no candidate receives 50% of the first-choice votes, the least popular candidate is eliminated. Voters who chose that eliminated candidate would have their vote transferred to the tally of their second-choice candidate.

This continues until one candidate receives a decisive majority vote, effectively eliminating the need for a runoff election. 

For and against

Political blogger Paul Gessing told councilors that the ranked choice voting was 鈥渢oo confusing.鈥�

鈥淣ot all (voters) are attending City Council meetings,鈥� Gessing said. 鈥淭hey don't all have their top five candidates or six candidates listed out and are not able to necessarily do the research for that.鈥�

Gessing suggested that the city should instead eliminate runoff elections by returning to a plurality. The current system requires one candidate to receive at least 50% of the vote; otherwise, a runoff is triggered between the top two vote recipients.

Supporters, including school teachers, refuted Gessing, saying that ranked choice voting is used and understood by children to choose elective classes and vote in class elections.

鈥淪urely you don鈥檛 consider Burque帽os less capable of understanding than a 5-year-old,鈥� said public commenter Kristen Cummings.

Supporters also argued that ranked choice voting is fiscally responsible and would encourage higher voter turnout.

Leadership at the county agreed with supporters.

According to Bernalillo County Clerk Michelle Kavanaugh, ranked choice voting could save taxpayers millions by eliminating runoff elections.

Last year, the city spent $1.8 million to host a runoff election for the mayoral and city council races, Kavanaugh said. At a minimum, runoff elections cost the city around $500,000, Kavanaugh said.

Kavanaugh also assured councilors that the county, which is responsible for coordinating the election, was ready to implement ranked choice voting.

鈥淣ow鈥檚 the time,鈥� Kavanaugh said during public comment.

Despite the failed vote, Fiebelkorn said she sees ranked choice as an inevitability and that eventually the City Council will have to catch up. 

鈥淭his is coming,鈥� Fiebelkorn said. 

Gillian Barkhurst is the local government reporter for the Journal. She can be reached at gbarkhurst@abqjournal.com.