A ballot initiative that could change the way Seattle votes has pitted two unconventional voting methods against each other, with one side attracting hundreds of thousands in funding from a crypto billionaire and other Silicon Valley denizens.
A ballot initiative that could change the way Seattle chooses its city officials has pitted two unconventional voting methods against each other, with one side attracting hundreds of thousands in funding from a crypto billionaire and other Silicon Valley denizens.
On the other side is Ranked Choice Voting where—as the name suggests—voters rank their choices first, second and so on. If no candidate gets a majority, and a voter’s top choice falls short and is eliminated, then their second choice is counted. This, too, would ultimately result in a two candidate run-off in compliance with Washington State law.
“The trouble with Seattle’s system right now is that voters are forced to vote strategically, and winners often advance without real, broad support,” said Stephanie Houghton, FairVote Washington’s Managing Director. “Ranked-choice voting means you don’t get stuck having to choose between the lesser of two evils.”
The rivalry started late last year, when proponents of Approval Voting launched a signature campaign in Seattle to get the method to qualify for the ballot.. Samuel Bankman-Fried, a crypto billionaire who has given millions to Democrats and their causes over the past year alone, is one of the latest donors, giving $135,000 in February 2022 to the cause.
RCV advocates contend their method was more suited to the community where they had been working in the community for years and pointed to the number of local endorsements from unions and community groups as well as in-state financial support.