Michael Hearne in The Sun Sailor
To the Editor:
As the dust settles on the most contentious presidential election in modern history, the Plymouth City Council is showing its leadership by studying ranked-choice voting at a study session April 13. I believe it is the best option to bring civility to future elections.
The simple act of ranking your candidates has the significant impact of changing the conversation. When a candidate must appeal to be a resident’s second choice, candidates must switch their focus from identities (us vs. them) to the issues that will improve Plymouth. They must reach beyond a narrow base and appeal to a broader set of residents that share common views.
While we see less contentious elections in Plymouth, we surely do see toxic divisiveness at the state and national levels. By implementing ranked-choice voting at a local level, we will be showing our support for similar reforms at the state and national levels, including the current Minnesota House bill (HF89) that would allow more cities to decide their own election process.
In the shadow of this last election, now is the time to make changes for more civil future elections. Please encourage your Plymouth City Council members to support ranked-choice voting.
Michael Hearne
Plymouth
Hearne is a member of the Plymouth Citizens for Ranked Choice Voting.
Rank Your Vote is a project of FairVote Minnesota, a nonprofit, nonpartisan election reform organization that engages hundreds of volunteers and thousands of supporters. Together, we work for a stronger democracy through public education and advocacy for Ranked Choice Voting, a system proven to be more inclusive, democratic, and representative than our current plurality electoral system. We educate and support candidates, elected officials, cities and voters in preparation for RCV elections.