To the editor: In the June primary, Arlington voters are selecting candidates for two seats on the County Board using ranked-choice voting. But the reality is, for most voters only ONE of their votes will be counted, as the process for two seats denies the electorate one vote per seat. Voters are disenfranchised.
The way ranked-choice voting will work in this election, voters select their first, second and third choices. I am sure voters believe that two of their choices will be counted in some round of vote tabulation. This is not so.
Let me try to explain how this complicated and undemocratic process works. Remember all voters are voting to select TWO candidates for the County Board.
In the first round, only the first-choice votes are counted. Everyone has one of their two votes counted. If no candidate gets a majority of votes in the first round (in this case, 34%), the candidate with the least number of votes in the first round is eliminated and that candidate’s second-place votes are then distributed among the other candidates to be counted in the second round.
No other second-place votes are counted in the second round. Only the second-place votes for the candidate who received the fewest number of votes are counted in that round. This also is the case in the ensuing rounds. Only as each of the least “vote-getting” candidates get eliminated do their remaining votes get counted.
In theory, it could take all the way to the fifth round for most of our second-choice votes to be counted. And still, the second-choice votes for the top vote-getter in the first round may never be counted. (That top “vote-getter” would have to drop to the bottom in subsequent rounds for their second-choice votes to be counted.)
In a scenario where the first-place vote-getter receives enough votes to win, that candidate’s remaining second-place votes are only counted fractionally, based on the total number of votes in the election, while the last-place vote-getter has his/her second-place votes distributed as one vote each. This applies in any round.
Why are some second-choice votes counted fractionally while others are counted wholly?
The powers that be say this voting method is fair. They say it redistributes votes, and it is possible for the remaining candidates to receive additional votes from those who are eliminated.
(If this sounds complicated, it is. Is it deliberate?)
I am voting for two candidates on the County Board. I want both of my votes to count. That may very well not happen.
This voting method should not be used for selecting candidates for two seats. It is not democracy.
Julie Lee, Arlington
