Two-Thirds of Voters in Burlington, VT, cast Ballots in favor of Restoring Ranked-Choice-Voting (RCV) in Vermont's largest City.

If Vermont's Democratic Majority General Assembly and GOP Gov. Phil Scott also Sign-Off on the Ballot Initiative, RCV will be used for City Council Elections starting next March, 2022.

With this latest Win in Burlington, momentum for RCV continues to build across the Country. More than 20 Cities or Counties use RCV, and Alaska just joined Maine as the First States to Implement the System Stastewide.

More than Two Dozen States have Active Campaigns advocating for RCV, but its Biggest Debut will be in the New York Mayoral Primary in June 2021. It has stsrted being used in City Council Special Elections in February and March. 2021

Burlington was an Early adopter of RCV in 2005, when Voters chose to Implement it for City Council and Mayoral Elections. However, Five years and Two Mayoral Elections later, Voters decided to Revert back to Traditional Plurality Voting after a Controversial Mayor was Elected through RCV.

After a Decade without RCV Elections, the City Council attempted to put an Initiative to use RCV for All Citywide Elections on the Ballot last November 2020, but the Effort was Vetoed by Mayor Miro Weinberger (D). Council Members then Amended the Initiative so RCV would only be used for Council Elections. The Mayor Approved this narrower use and the Initiative was placed on the March 2nd Ballot.

The Pro-RCV Campaign, Better Ballot Burlington, was led by City Councilor Zoraya Hightower, a Member of the Progressive Party, and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (D).

Proponents say RCV deters Negative Campaigning and Supports more Consensus-driven Politics, while also Boosting the Election Prospects of Women and People-of-Color.

Opponents argue the System is Confusing and doesn't necessarily Lead to better Representation.

While RCV is probably the most Widely known and used Alternative Voting Method, it's not the Only Option.

St. Louis used Approval voting for the First time in its Mayoral Election, Tuesday, becoming the Second City to employ the System, after Fargo, ND.

This Voting System allowed the City's Voters to "Approve" of as many of the Four Mayoral Candidates as they liked. The Two Candidates who Received the most Votes, Tishaura Jones and Cara Spencer, will now Advance to the April General Election, guaranteeing the City will have its Second Female Mayor.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker