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Boston's Morning Newsletter
How would ranked choice voting work in Boston? Here's a look
Editor's Note: This is an excerpt from WBUR's daily morning newsletter, WBUR Today. If you like what you read and want it in your inbox, sign up here.
It’s hard to overshadow Tom Brady Day, but the Celtics are now one game away from their 18th NBA championship. And by the sounds of the TD Garden watch party last night, fans are pretty pumped. (No team has ever lost an NBA playoff series after taking a 3-0 lead.)
Get ready for some packed Friday night bars around Boston; the potentially decisive Game 4 is tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. in Dallas.
But first, the news:
Ranked choice — with a twist: The push for ranked choice voting in Boston’s city elections took its first official step yesterday. With the support of at least two colleagues, City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune introduced a home rule petition to implement the voting system in Boston starting in 2027. While RCV was rejected by Massachusetts voters in 2020, many other places — including Maine and Alaska — use it. Supporters say it eliminates fear of third-party “spoilers” and increases voter engagement. That said, incorporating ranked choice into Boston’s non-partisan preliminary election system would look pretty different from what they have in Maine (or what we voted on in 2020). Here’s a breakdown:
- In Boston’s current system, the top two vote-getters in the September preliminary elections for mayor advance to a one-on-one general election. The same goes for the nine different district council seats. Meanwhile, in the race for the council’s four at-large seats, the top eight vote-getters advance. In the general, the top four vote-getters out of those eight get a seat. (For both at-large elections, Bostonians can vote for up to four candidates.)
- Under Louijeune’s proposal, voting in the preliminary elections would remain the same (voters would not rank their picks). However, in the mayoral and district council preliminaries, the top four vote-getters would advance to November.
- In the general election, Louijeuene’s proposal would let voters rank up to four candidates each for mayor and district councilor (more on the at-large council race in a second). Any candidate with over 50% of the first-choice votes wins. If no one gets over 50%, the instant runoff process begins. (If you’re not already familiar with the system, NPR has an easy RCV explainer here.)
- Here’s where it gets a little complex: In the at-large council general election, voters would also rank their top four choices. However, multi-winner ranked choice voting counts the ballots a little differently. According to Louijeune’s proposal, anyone with over 20% of the first-choice votes automatically wins a seat — and any votes they received above that 20% threshold are instead counted for the ballot’s next-ranked candidate. Only after that process does the traditional ranked choice voting tabulation begin (if there are still seats to fill): the candidates with the fewest votes get eliminated and their ballots are redistributed based on next choices. This method is similar to Cambridge’s current system for City Council elections and ensures that “more than 80% of voters” consistently see their vote count for electing one of their favorite candidates,” according to Louijeune’s office.
- There’s still a long road ahead: Louijeune’s home rule petition has to make it through the City Council (where it has at least one opponent; Councilor Ed Flynn has called it too “confusing”). It would then need approval from Mayor Michelle Wu, state lawmakers and Boston voters via a citywide referendum.
On Beacon Hill: The Senate plans to vote on Gov. Maura Healey’s veterans bill today, after it was passed unanimously by the House last month. Senate leaders say the bill “closely mirrors” Healey’s original bill, with a few additions, like allowing Gold Star family spouses to remarry without the penalty of losing their annuity benefit.
- In other unanimous news: The Senate also plans to vote today on the compromise bill to outlaw revenge porn in Massachusetts, which the House passed 155-0 yesterday. (The House also unanimously passed the parentage bill we discussed yesterday, but it’s unclear when the Senate plans to take up that one.)
Boston Public Market’s outdoor farmers market returns for the season today — in a new location. After years near South Station, the market will be a half-mile up the Rose Kennedy Greenway, between Milk and India Street (near the Boston Harbor Garage).
- Zoom in: The market will run 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. every Thursday through Oct. 24 (besides July 4). Click here for the list of vendors offering local produce, baked goods, coffee, plants and more.
City of Champions: Brockton is unveiling a bronze statue today of late hometown hero Marvin Hagler near the former Petronelli Brothers’ gym where the boxing great once trained. The city is also naming the park and street where the life-size statue is located after Hagler (who, in unrelated news, is soon getting a new biopic movie).
P.S.— Listeners had a lot of questions about our hit podcast Beyond All Repair, and host Amory Sivertson is answering many of them in this new Q&A bonus episode. If you have additional questions or want a closer look behind the scenes of Beyond All Repair, don’t miss next week’s special CitySpace event with Amory and the team. (We’ve added $5 livestream tickets for those who can’t make it in person.)
