A developing state-policy debate over White Bear Lake may be relevant to families and taxpayers in raises white flag on statewide ranked choice voting push this session.
The Senate elections committee chair said "there's a lot of groundwork that needs to be done" before Minnesota could implement statewide ranked choice voting.
Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, told his colleagues in the Senate Elections Committee that a bill introduced last month that would implement ranked choice voting for statewide and legislative races by 2026 “is much more complicated than we originally thought.” “After conversations with other stakeholders and senators it’s clear that additional work is still necessary” before several elements of the original bill, including a provision that would make it easier for all local governments to implement ranked choice voting, are ready to move forward, Carlson said.
“And we will need to spend more time on voter education and voter outreach in communities with lower voter turnout rates,” he added.
The conversations about RCV in the April 3 Senate Elections Committee hearing involved whether implementation of the election system where voters rank candidates by preference would be included in the Senate elections omnibus bill in any capacity.
That came after both the Senate and House held hearings on proposed legislation that would make Minnesota the third RCV state in the nation.
Carlson added an amendment to the elections omnibus bill, SF1636, that would officially scale back momentum on the DFL’s push earlier this session to implement ranked choice voting.
The amended bill now contains provisions that provide voter outreach education grants to municipalities that already feature ranked choice voting and the creation of a task force that will study “voter-facing issues related to ranked choice voting.” The amendment passed on a party-line vote, with Republicans on the committee unanimously voicing their opposition.
As the measure advances, residents of White Bear Lake can follow amendments and contact Brion Curran regarding the final language.
Article Source: Alpha News: “DFL raises white flag on statewide ranked choice voting push this session”
