(this article originally appeared on New Brunswick Today on January, 26, 2021)
Here in the Bay City, residents voted overwhelmingly to change their form of government in 2019, giving themselves more of a voice in their local elections by requiring a second “runoff” election when no candidate receives a clear a majority of votes.
Because the city has non-partisan elections for local offices, and thus does not narrow down the field of candidates with a primary election, Perth Amboy often has more than two candidates in each contest.
Desiring a way to ensure the community’s leaders earned majority support, the City Council placed the government change on the ballot, and voters approved it with 67% support.
The move was an apparent response to Mayor Wilda Diaz, first elected as a reformer in 2008, winning her second and third terms with less than a majority of the total votes cast…
Continue Reading about Ranked Choice Voting on New Brunswick Today
