Kansas City, here’s how to elect candidates who represent our community’s consensus

Kansas Citians could elect their mayor and City Council in a dramatically different way next year.

It’s called ranked choice voting, or RCV. Growing numbers of cities and states use RCV to increase interest and turnout, attract more quality candidates, and reduce the impact of negative campaigns.

Kansas City could be next.

A committee called Better Ballot KC has conducted a petition drive to put local ranked choice voting on the ballot. The group recently submitted petition signatures to the clerk and should learn this week if it has enough valid signatures to force a vote to amend the charter.

The goal is to put RCV on the ballot in August or November. If voters say yes, the system would then be in place for all city elections in 2023.

We’ve said the state of Missouri should consider RCV. Now we urge the Kansas City Council to put the ranked choice system on the ballot as quickly as possible, so voters can decide the issue.

Ranked choice voting, sometimes called instant runoff, sounds confusing. It isn’t. Instead of casting just one ballot for mayor, or for a council seat, voters would rank their choices: first choice, second choice and so on.

If a candidate receives more than 50% of first place votes, the election is over and that candidate is declared the winner. If no one reaches that threshold, however, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and his or her first place votes are reassigned to the second choice on those ballots.

The process continues until one candidate has obtained a majority.

“RCV enables a process that guarantees a consensus majority winner for each office,” said Larry Bradley, a member of the Better Ballot KC group.

In Kansas City, ranked choice voting would eliminate confusing and expensive primaries for council seats and the mayor. There would be just one election, in April, for those positions. That would save time and money — an estimated $617,000.

Ranked choice voting is used in states and cities as a way to reduce partisanship in elections. That isn’t an issue in Kansas City, because mayoral and council elections are already nonpartisan. But RCV would likely attract more candidates for council seats because lesser-known hopefuls would have a better chance to prevail.

It might also attract strong candidates for the mayoral election. As it now stands, Mayor Quinton Lucas is the only declared candidate for the job. We think Kansas City needs and deserves a robust election for the city’s top position, and ranked choice voting could provide it.

There are, to be sure, unanswered questions surrounding this process. The petition now on the table would require RCV in city elections, but would leave the specific ballot format and rules up to the City Council. Kansas Citians will want to keep a close eye on that debate to make sure incumbents don’t try to protect themselves by manipulating the ballot.

We also want to make sure the ballot remains open to Black and Hispanic candidates, who are underrepresented at City Hall. We think RCV would make it easier for such candidates, but the city’s strange six at-large, six in-district system could skew outcomes even with ranked choice.

Evidence from other states and cities suggest RCV is popular and improves election outcomes. New York City used RCV for its mayor and council elections and saw better turnout. Maine and Alaska have ranked choice systems in place.

Heck, Kansas Democrats used RCV in their 2020 presidential primary. Turnout tripled.

“Government at its core must be responsive to the people,” said Rob Richie, president and CEO of FairVote.org. “Bad voting rules distort incentives. If we don’t change those rules, our government will fail us.”

We agree. Kansas City faces enormously important issues in the 2023 elections: housing, policing, tax policy, economic development and public safety are all on the table — just for a start. Voters need quality candidates, and quality campaigns.

Ranked choice voting could help provide both. Better Ballot KC has provided an opportunity for RCV here, and we should take it.