Originally published in the Sun Current, July 31, 2022.
To the editor:
I oppose the effort to repeal Bloomington’s ranked-choice voting ordinance.
Bloomington voters approved the ordinance just two years ago, and it worked flawlessly in the first ranked-choice election last fall. Not only does it save taxpayers the cost of a primary election, but it encourages all candidates to appeal to a broad constituency, and leads to more civil elections. The issue was fully debated, and voters chose ranked-choice voting.
The repeal’s proponents are attempting to re-litigate a position that voters recently rejected. But, as they say, there’s more. They not only seek to repeal the current ordinance and prohibit ranked-choice voting in future elections, but would require a “super majority” (two-thirds) of voters to restore ranked-choice voting.
In other words, they want their proposed prohibition of ranked-choice voting to be beyond the reach of the majority. Even supporters of a repeal should recognize that a bare majority (51%) of voters should not be able to approve an ordinance that requires a super majority (two-thirds) to undo.
Bloomington voters have already decided they want ranked-choice voting. Let’s keep it.
Robert Huber
Bloomington