The first two of four open houses on ranked balloting this week are taking place Wednesday, asking London voters if they think the city should adopt the model for municipal elections.
City council is considering replacing first-past-the-post voting for ranked balloting, which, as the name suggests, allows voters to list candidates in their order of preference.
Ranked ballots ensure winning candidates get at least 50 per cent of the vote.
“The main reason is just the math,” said Dave Meslin, an advocate for electoral reform from the group 123 Ontario.
“Under the current system you can win a seat on council, or you can win the mayor’s seat with as low as 20 per cent of the vote.”
Ranked balloting is not new to London, as it was used to elect former London mayor Joe Fontana’s replacement.
“When they had to replace the vacancy left by Joe Fontana in 2014, London city council went through three rounds of runoff voting until the winner actually had a majority of the vote. It’s how the Academy Awards chooses best picture, it’s how the Conservative Party will be choosing their leader in the spring, and the NDP choosing their leader in the fall,” said Meslin.
READ MORE: Londoners to weigh in on switching to ranked ballot system at open house meetings
Meslin will be at the ranked ballot meetings this week.
Meetings are taking place on Wednesday, March 8 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the North London Optimist Community Centre, 1345 Cheapside St., and at the Medway Community Centre, 119 Sherwood Forest Square. Two additional meetings are taking place on Thursday, March 9 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Earl Nichols Arena meeting room, 799 Homeview Rd., and at the Stronach Community Centre, 1221 Sanford St. Information will be presented at 6:30 p.m. at all meetings.
Another public meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 22 at 11 a.m.
A decision on whether to move to the new system has to be made by May 1 if the city wants ranked ballots to be in place for next year’s municipal election. If the city chooses to switch, it would be the first city in the province to do so. The change would come at a cost of around $322,000, according to city staff.
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