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Page 10 • Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 Bloomington • Richfield current.mnsun.com Proposal would ease ranked-choice voting transition voting for their elections. Beyond giving third- party candidates a chance to compete in an election, ranked-choice voting “is seen as a way to promote civility in elections,” El- kins said. The system has been adopted by Minneapo- lis, St. Paul and St. Louis Park. Ranked-choice voting allows voters to cast multiple votes, in order of preference. Vot- ers can cast a vote for the candidate they pre- fer, knowing that if a candidate doesn’t garner enough votes to win the election and is eliminated from consideration due to a low vote total, the ballot will count toward the voter’s second choice. The system is also known as instant runoff voting, according to FairVote Minnesota, the organiza- tion lobbying for ranked- choice voting. When there are mul- tiple choices in an elec- tion, such as a governor’s race which often features several candidates rep- resenting minor parties, some voters retreat to choosing the person they think is the “least bad candidate who has a bet- ter chance of winning,” Elkins explained. In addition to opening the door to third-party candidates, the system is touted as a way to By MIKE HANKS [email protected] When Steve Elkins served on the nonparti- san Bloomington City Council, he realized that it might have been harder to earn, or hold onto, the seat had he been identi- fi ed by his party. The Minnesota House District 49B Democrat was an active member of the Independence Party during the 2000s, winning election to the city council in the fall of 2001 and resigning in 2011 when he was ap- pointed to the Metropol- itan Council. Had he run for election or re-election under the party banner against challengers rep- resenting the Democrat- ic-Farmer-Labor and Re- publican parties, perhaps he wouldn’t have won his council seat back in 2001. Elkins ran for the state House last fall as a Democrat, with endorse- ments from both the DFL and Independence Party. Now serving in St. Paul, Elkins is lead- ing the charge to give third-party candidates a better chance at winning election at the local level. Elkins is the chief author of a bill aimed at stream- lining and easing the pro- cess for cities, counties and school districts to institute ranked-choice WINTER PAINTING SPECIALS! 20 Years Experience You Can Trust! 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That August primary election narrows the fi eld down to two can- didates for the November ballot, but turnout for city elections – which are off-year elections from county, state and federal elections – only draw about 5 percent of eligi- ble voters, Elkins pointed out. The proposal being proffered in St. Paul wouldn’t mandate that local elections use a ranked-choice system. Minnesota’s charter cit- ies, approximately 15 per- cent of cities in the state, are already allowed to switch to ranked-choice voting, but the bill is aimed at streamlining the process for switch- ing to the system while allowing school districts and county governments to do the same thing, Elkins explained. “I support this bill be- cause it gives local com- munities the fl exibility to make their own decisions about local voting op- tions,” said House Dis- trict 50A Rep. Michael Howard (D-Richfi eld), a co-sponsor of the bill. Although ranked- choice voting is new to Minnesota, it is not a new idea, and has been adopt- ed elsewhere around the country. “A good trial for this would be in the presiden- tial primaries next year,” according to Elkins. With a wide fi eld of Democratic contenders expected to vie for their party’s nomination for president in 2020, Min- nesota will hold a tradi- tional primary election next year, as the winner of Minnesota’s presiden- tial primary will likely do so with a tiny plurality, according to Elkins. Us- ing ranked-choice voting the outcome may be dif- ferent, and provide more centrist candidates with a better chance of earning the state’s endorsement, he explained. The bill’s sponsors also include House District 50B Rep. Andrew Carl- son (D-Bloomington) and House District 49A Rep. Heather Edelson (D-Edina). Although the system is deemed a success in its limited use in Min- neapolis and St. Paul, a bill opening the door to ranked-choice voting will see opposition, ac- cording to Elkins. The Republican-controlled Minnesota Senate will be a tougher sell, as the Republican Party has been less supportive of the change, likely be- cause third parties have been less detrimental to Republican candidates in recent years than they have to Democratic can- didates, Elkins said. Information about the bill, which was heard by the Subcommittee on Elections Feb. 20, is available online at soo. gd/ranked. Follow Bloomington community editor Mike Hanks on Twitter at @suncurrent and on Facebook at suncurrentcentral. COMMUNITY NOTE Republican Seniors to meet March 5 The Republican Se- niors of Minnesota, an affi liate of the Republi- can Party of Minnesota, regularly brings seniors 50-plus together to learn about and discuss issues that are important to Minnesotans. The group will meet 10 a.m. Tuesday, March 5, at the Minneapolis-Rich- fi eld American Legion Post 435, 6501 Portland Ave. S. Retired Marine colonel and former longtime 2nd Congressional District Congressman John Kline will be the guest speaker and will describe his time in the U.S. House, com- paring it to the politics in Washington today. In addition, Minnesota House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt will provide a report on work of the 2019 legislative session, and Andy Cilek of the Minnesota Voter’s Alli- ance who will provide an update on their activities. Republican Seniors meets at 10 a.m. the fi rst Tuesday of every month (except July) at Post 435. There is a $5 fee for Re- publican Seniors mem- bers to attend and $10 for non-members, including a beverage and snack, or $10 for members, and $15 for non-members that in- cludes a box lunch. For more information, email republicanseniors- [email protected], or visit republicanseniorsmn. com. 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