Several Ithaca Common Council members say they plan to consider exploring proposed election reforms, including ranked choice voting, even after an initial petition presenting the measure failed to meet requirements.
Ranked choice voting would change Ithaca’s current voting system, which allows voters to cast their ballot only for their preferred candidate. Ranked choice would instead allow voters to rank candidates by order of preference, allowing their vote to transfer to their second choice if their top candidate is eliminated. The system is already in place for primary and special elections in New York City.
A group of local residents petitioned to put ranked choice voting and "all candidate" primaries on the ballot in Ithaca.
The group argues that ranked choice would allow voters to voice their support for a candidate who might not win, without having to worry about throwing away their vote, and would help cultivate more civil elections. Their petition received over 800 signatures before it was submitted to the city clerk last month.
However, the proposal didn’t include a plan to pay for the cost of switching to ranked choice voting, a requirement for legislation with financial implications.
Ithaca City Clerk Alan Karasin told common council members at last week's meeting that the error meant the petition could not be certified and move forward in the legislative process.
However, that decision doesn’t necessarily mean that ranked choice voting is dead. At the same meeting some Ithaca Common Council members said they are open to the idea and are considering a legislative avenue for introducing it, including Alderperson Patrick Kuehl.
“I did sign this petition. I am in favor of ranked choice voting, as well as numerous other changes to our elections in the city of Ithaca,” he said.
Ithaca Mayor Robert Cantelmo said the council seemed generally supportive of exploring the proposal, but any major changes to election procedures would need to involve a dialogue with voters.
“We would want to make sure there's ample lead time for civic engagement and civic education on what the new process will look like, so that no one feels confused or disenfranchised with however we would move forward with the new structure,” he said.
The proposal also called for all-candidate primaries. That means voters wouldn’t need to be registered with a party to cast a ballot in the primaries and all candidates would run against each other in one primary, regardless of party status.
Ithaca City Attorney Victor Kessler said there is legal precedent for ranked choice, but the city would need to take a closer look at all-candidate primaries.
“I can't say at this time either way, whether it would be OK or not,” he said. “But ranked choice voting, for sure, is a thing that you can make happen under New York state law, because it's still going in New York City.”
Cantelmo proposed that the council form a working group to further investigate at next month’s meeting.