Republicans at the State Capitol are looking at prohibiting Minneapolis, St. Paul and other Minnesota communities from using ranked-choice voting.
After hearing from one supporter and a dozen people who opposed the measure — including DFL Secretary of State Steve Simon, who said it would nullify the voices of voters who chose the ranked method — a Senate panel approved the prohibition in a party-line vote on Tuesday.
Minneapolis and St. Paul use the ranked system. Other cities, including St. Louis Park and Rochester, are looking into switching to the ranked process for electing mayors and city council members. The legislation would bar new cities from adopting the system but also force cities that adopted it in recent years to abandon it.
"It just confuses voters," Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, said of ranked voting. He authored the bill and said he prefers a uniform statewide voting system.
Ranked-choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting, eliminates the need for a primary and instead puts all candidates on one ballot. Voters rank them in order of preference. That means it's not just people's top picks that matter, but their second and third choices.
Opponents of the system argue St. Paul and Minneapolis have not seen the lower costs, higher turnout and reduced negativity that ranked voting proponents promised. Proponents disagree. They say ranked voting gives more people a voice by eliminating low-turnout local primaries and favoring candidates with the broadest support.
A number of local elected officials spoke out against the legislation at Tuesday's hearing, saying it infringes on local control of elections.
"This is really about whether or not local government can be trusted to lead their people," said Michael Wojcik, Rochester City Council member.