Letter to the Editor: Pro Ranked-Choice Voting
On June 14, the local Bloomington Sun Current newspaper published a guest column from a Waconia lawyer representing a small group of anti-RCV activists. The column had some content that left many volunteers scratching their heads, so I prepared a response. While the full response was not published in the paper, a short version was, which you can see in the photo.
My full response:
Response to RCV Bloomington Repeal Lawyer in Sun Current 6-14-23
I would like to highlight some facts for fellow Bloomington voters to provide context for the guest column by Waconia lawyer Gregory Joseph who represents residents attempting to repeal Ranked Choice Voting for our local elections. First and foremost, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the district court’s rejection of their proposed charter amendment attempting to repeal Ranked Choice Voting because a core section of that ballot measure was “manifestly unconstitutional” and not severable. The court noted, “it is well established in Minnesota that when a proposed charter amendment is manifestly unconstitutional, the city council may refuse to place the proposal on the ballot,” which is exactly what happened here. (Read the court ruling at this LINK.)
A central component, Section 4.08, of their proposal would have required any future RCV ballot measure to be approved by two-thirds of voters, rather than the 51 percent set by state law. Our City Council, in consultation with the City Attorney and Attorney General, unanimously and properly rejected that ballot measure as unconstitutional.
To be clear, Joseph and his clients were seeking to raise a supermajority threshold to pass any future RCV ballot measure, erecting an anti-democratic barrier to one of our most promising electoral reforms. Their efforts were aimed at undermining our democracy and state law. Joseph disingenuously suggests the two-thirds support “could have been determined through a simple voter survey,” a clear misrepresentation of section 4.08 which refers to two-thirds approval “in a regular municipal election.”
Joseph and his clients are also dishonest in how they portray the successful effort to pass RCV. He calls Ranked Choice Voting “a scheme never properly presented to the residents…,” when in fact a majority of Bloomington voters approved Ranked Choice Voting on the ballot in the high-turnout presidential election of November 2020. Joseph and his RCV opponents refuse to acknowledge that result, and instead are seeking to re-do the ballot measure, causing the city and its residents to incur more costs. Saying this was forced upon Bloomington voters or that it’s too hard for voters to understand is frankly insulting. I trust the voters of Bloomington and our election results, and our votes adopting RCV should be respected.
Ranked Choice Voting is a simple change to the ballot that empowers voters to rank candidates in order of preference and ensures winning candidates have earned majority support. It gives voters greater choice and power and makes our elections more civil, representative, inclusive and cost-effective. The 2021 ranked-choice elections in Bloomington were a tremendous success, with super majorities of Bloomington voters ranking their ballots and reporting in election day polling that they liked RCV and found it easy to use. Moreover, RCV eliminated the municipal primary in August which saved taxpayers over $80,000 according to the city clerk.
I am thrilled we will have the opportunity to use RCV once again this fall, when we will vote for mayor and all city councilmembers using Ranked Choice Voting. I encourage my fellow voters to use their power and rank their vote!
Anita Smithson
Resident, voter, and volunteer for RCV Bloomington
The Minnesota DFL supports the use of ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, for local, state, and all federal primary and general elections as part of our Ongoing Platform.
Anita Smithson is the SD50 DFL volunteer Communications Officer and resides in Bloomington House District 50B.
The article by Gregory Joseph, the lawyer representing Ranked Choice Voting opponents, requires context and correction. First and foremost, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the district court’s rejection of their proposed charter amendment attempting to repeal Ranked Choice Voting because a core section of that ballot measure was “manifestly unconstitutional” and not severable. The court noted, “it is well established in Minnesota that when a proposed charter amendment is manifestly unconstitutional, the city council may refuse to place the proposal on the ballot,” which is exactly what happened here.
A central component, Section 4.08, of their proposal would have required any future RCV ballot measure to be approved by two-thirds of voters, rather than the 51 percent set by state law. Our City Council, in consultation with the City Attorney and Attorney General, unanimously and properly rejected that ballot measure as unconstitutional.
Joseph and his clients were seeking to raise a supermajority threshold to pass any future RCV ballot measure, erecting an anti-democratic barrier to one of our most promising electoral reforms. Their efforts were aimed at undermining our democracy and state law. Joseph disingenuously suggests the two-thirds support “could have been determined through a simple voter survey,” a clear misrepresentation of section 4.08 which refers to two-thirds approval “in a regular municipal election.”
Joseph is also dishonest in how he portrays the successful effort to pass RCV. He calls Ranked Choice Voting “a scheme never properly presented to the residents…,” when in fact a majority of Bloomington voters approved Ranked Choice Voting in the high-turnout presidential election of November 2020. Joseph and his RCV opponents refuse to acknowledge that result, and instead are seeking to re-do the ballot measure, causing the city and its residents to incur more costs. Saying this was forced upon Bloomington voters or that it’s too hard for voters to understand is frankly insulting. I trust the voters of Bloomington and our election results, and our votes adopting RCV should be respected.
I’m thrilled we’ll have more choice and voice when we vote for mayor and councilmembers using RCV this fall!