Choice Voting -- The Optimal Proportional Representation Election Method
Choice voting is a proportional representation system in which voters maximize
their vote’s effectiveness by ranking candidates, and the threshold of
support necessary to win is lower than in winner-take-all elections.
Proportional representation systems are ones where as many voters as possible
in a given constituency elect a preferred candidate. Choice voting
(also known as “preference voting”, the “Hare system” and the “single
transferable vote”) is the fairest method of proportional representation that
can be used in non-partisan elections, and also has a well-established
history in partisan elections. Choice voting effectively eliminates the
spoiler problem, and can encourage coalition-building among minority
groups and parties, as candidates benefit from being one another's second
choices.Choice voting has been used primarily in English-speaking nations, in large part because of John Stuart Mill’s strong advocacy. Choice voting is currently used for electing such legislatures as the parliaments of Malta and the Republic of Ireland; the federal senate in Australia; the regional assembly and most cities in Northern Ireland; all local health boards in New Zealand and the city council of New Zealand's capital Wellington; and the city council and school committee in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Citizens' Assembly in British Columbia also recommended choice voting for future elections in the province. It is also frequently used to elect the boards of non-governmental organizations.
Approximately two dozen cities in the United States have used choice voting, mostly in the first half of the 20th century when it was highlighted in the model city charter of the National Municipal League. New York City used it for five city council elections during the era of Mayor Fiorello La Guardia. Cincinnati used it for council elections from 1925 to 1955. Others municipalities using choice voting included Cleveland, Sacramento (CA), Toledo (OH) and Worcester (MA). Generally adopted to reform “machine” governments, choice voting faced persistent and ultimately successful opposition, despite voters typically opposing initial repeal efforts. The need for hand-counts and the fact that it represented racial minorities well were the main political problems for choice voting in the United States in this era.
Choice voting has won recent support from charter commissions in cities such as Kalamazoo (MI) and Pasadena (CA). It won 45% of the vote in stand-alone ballot measures in Cincinnati in 1988 and 1991 and in San Francisco in 1996.
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