The election for Chicago mayor would make a perfect case study for ranked choice voting. Since Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that he would not be seeking a third term, many people have expressed interest in running.
2019 Mayoral Election Candidates
There are already 17 candidates seeking the office and even more seriously considering it. And the deadline to register as a candidate is still two months away on November 26th. The election will be held in 5 months on February 26, 2019.
Candidates Running for 2019 Mayoral Election
- Dorothy Brown
- Gery Chico
- Bill Daley
- Amara Enyia
- Ja’Mal Green
- Jeremiah Joyce, Jr
- William Kelly
- John Kozlar
- Troy LaRaviere
- Lori Lightfoot
- Garry McCarthy
- Toni Preckwinkle
- Matthew Roney
- Neal Sales-Griffin
- Paul Vallas
- William ‘Dock’ Walls
- Willie Wilson
Considering:
- Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia
- Susana Mendoza
- Kurt Summers
17+ Candidates=No Majority Winner
With 17 candidates (and possibly more), it is virtually impossible to have a majority winner, especially with the number of highly qualified candidates expressing interest. If there isn’t a majority winner, there will have to be a runoff on April 2, 2019. The additional cost of a runoff will easily make the mayoral election costs double for both the city and the candidates.
Ranked Choice Voting: An Easier Way
Ranked choice voting could be a game changer for the Chicago 2019 Mayoral Elections. By using ranked choice voting, voters would be able to rank their choices on the ballot. If a candidate received a small percentage of the vote, the candidate would be eliminated from the next round. If voters ranked their choices, their subsequent choices (second choice, third choice, etc) would be included as candidates are eliminated.
Instead of spreading the election out, there could be one clear winner from a single election. Chicago’s mayoral election could be a lot simpler if they were using ranked choice voting. However, it will be interesting to see how much time and money is spent to determine the new Chicago mayor.
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