ALBANY — In February, a group of residents here began collecting signatures to put an initiative on the November ballot asking voters to rank their choices for city council and school board candidates.
Within a month, they had picked up 600-plus signatures and were more than halfway through their goal when Alameda County issued stay-at-home orders to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
With streets, stores, restaurants and most businesses deserted, the petition drive stalled and never obtained the 1,159 valid signatures needed in time to qualify the initiative for this year’s general election.
Regardless, the Albany City Council unanimously decided Monday to do it for them anyway, saying it believed voters should get a chance to weigh in because the initiative likely would have received the minimum number of signatures were it not for the pandemic.
“Let the voters decide,” Councilman Peter Maass said during a May 18 meeting, when the council initially mulled the issue. “If the voters don’t think this is a good idea, it will get voted down. If they think it’s a good idea, they can figure it out.”
If voters approve the initiative, Albany would join Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro in allowing ranked-choice voting. The system allows voters to rank candidates in order of their preference as first, second, third and so on. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If not, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated and the other ranked preferences on his or her ballot are tallied to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes. That process is repeated until someone emerges with a majority.
In the past, when the issue came before the council, it was rejected 3-2. Still, the council decided Monday the initiative should go to voters.
Vice Mayor Peggy McQuaid said while she personally doesn’t support ranked-choice voting, it’s a question of fairness because had the coronavirus pandemic not struck, campaigners likely would have at least 15% of registered voters’ signatures — the minimum required to qualify the initiative.
Resident Harry Chomsky urged the council to let voters decide.
“The campaign was well on track to get the needed signatures and place a citizens’ initiative on the ballot. Only the virus prevented this from happening,” Chomsky said.
Fellow resident Bryan Marten also voiced support during last month’s meeting.
“I think it will allow diverse voices to be heard,” Marten said, adding it lets voters select someone who may not have been their first choice.
The move is expected to cost the city about $11,500 for initial voter outreach to explain the change, according to City Clerk Anne Hsu.
Aaron Tiedemann of Voter Choice Albany, which spearheaded the campaign to put the issue before voters, welcomed the council’s move.
“Voter Choice Albany is immensely proud of our work and of the city of Albany for taking decisive action to ensure the voters will have their say on ranked-choice,” Tiedemann said in an email. “Putting the measure on the ballot was a question of fairness and the city council rose to the occasion. We look forward to Albany residents having the chance to vote for an election system that better represents our diversity as a city.”
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Ranked choice voting? Albany residents will decide this November - East Bay Times
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