The Boston City Council is set to vote Wednesday on a home rule petition that seeks to overhaul the city’s electoral system by replacing the traditional approach of electing city politicians by popular vote with a ranked-choice voting system.
The petition, led by Council President Ruthzee Louijeune and co-sponsored by fellow progressive Democrat Councilors Julia Mejia and Henry Santana, seeks to change the city’s voting system for municipal elections for mayor and city council.
If approved by the City Council, the home rule petition would need to be signed by Mayor Michelle Wu and approved by the state Legislature. It would then need to be approved by city voters, in a ballot referendum.
“Bostonians support ranked-choice voting because it encourages candidates to build broad coalitions rather than appealing to a narrow base,” Louijeune said in a Tuesday statement. “Having worked as a lawyer on the first federal election to use RCV in Maine, I’ve seen firsthand that voters understand the straightforward concept of ranking their choices.
“This home rule petition has the potential to make our democracy more accessible and increase voter engagement,” she added.
Councilor Ed Flynn, a moderate Democrat, disagrees. He sees the proposed voting system as complicated and one that would create more confusion, particularly at a time when the city’s Elections Department is under state receivership after its failures last fall.
“At a time when residents across the political spectrum are concerned about our election process, and large segments of the country denying results of elections that they don’t win, the last thing we want to do is to create more confusion with a new voting system where the person who receives the most votes may not be declared the winner,” Flynn said in a statement. “That would be counterproductive in my view.
“It is all the more critical that we maintain the faith of all neighbors in our electoral system and democracy with a process that enhances participation and understanding, rather than one that complicates voting and strains resources. Ultimately, I believe this policy will be viewed by the people of Boston and my constituents as a solution in search of a problem,” he added.
A prior ballot question that would have implemented a statewide ranked-choice voting system was defeated by Massachusetts voters, by a 55% to 45% margin, in 2020. Louijeune and other proponents are banking on the 62% of Boston voters who supported that ballot measure as proof it could pass a citywide referendum.
If approved, ranked-choice voting would be in place for mayoral and district city council races in special and general elections when there are three or more candidates. Rather than voting only for their top choice, voters would rank up to four candidates, by order of preference.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed to the next-highest-ranked active candidate on each ballot. The process would then continue in rounds until one candidate earns a majority and is declared the winner, Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata wrote in her committee report for the petition.
It would increase the number of candidates who advance from the preliminary to general elections for mayor and district city council, from two to four.
The proposed system would also be in place for the at-large council race, where the top four vote-getters in the city-wide council race are elected in today’s approach, for the general election, Coletta Zapata’s report states.
“This vote is about honoring the will of Boston voters and taking a bold step toward a more inclusive democracy,” Ed Shoemaker, executive director of Ranked Choice Boston, said in a statement. “Ranked-choice voting gives power back to the people by empowering voters to vote with their hearts. It reduces the fear of ‘spoiler’ candidates and encourages coalition-building.”
Councilor Erin Murphy disagrees. Like fellow moderate Flynn but unlike the other three at-large councilors who sponsored the proposed legislation, she opposes ranked-choice voting.
“Our current system is straightforward and ensures every vote counts,” Murphy said in a statement. “Introducing RCV would complicate the process, potentially disenfranchising voters, especially our seniors and non-English-speaking residents. We should focus on making voting more accessible, not more confusing.”
