Ranked ballot voting causes delay during London city committee meeting

Ranked ballots caused some unexpected tension at London city hall on Monday.

City politicians on the strategic priorities and policy committee tried to use ranked ballots to narrow the list of candidates for the library board and hydro board but ran into issues when the process took longer than expected, causing two delays.

After the lists were narrowed, Coun. Phil Squire didn’t hesitate to show his frustration.

“I just think it’s great that we could have been done and finished just after 6:30, we’re now here at 7:40 still debating about a ranked ballot system and how great it could work if we got it right,” Squire said. “I think it demeans us as a council, makes us look silly, and I just have to smile, that’s all I can do.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I just think it's great that we could have been done and finished just after 6:30, we're now here at 7:40 still debating about a ranked ballot system and how great it could work if we got it right," Squire said. "I think it demeans us as a council, makes us look silly, and I just have to smile, that's all I can do."

Mayor Matt Brown called the unexpected delay a learning experience.

“I think that again, this evening, we see that this is a system that is evolving,” he said. “There was some frustration in the room and also this is a good indicator that we need to get this right if we’re moving to ranked balloting in the municipal election as well, and so we’ll send that to governance if this passes.”

Earlier this year, London city council voted to implement ranked ballots for the 2018 municipal election.

READ MORE: Results of London’s ranked ballots survey released

Coun. Josh Morgan defended ranked ballots, saying the issue on Monday night wasn’t with the system, but how it was conducted.

Morgan pointed out they had too many candidates for the number of people who were voting and they were inconsistent with their rules.