| Patrick Crowley | VTDigger |
BURLINGTON — The Burlington City Council passed two election-related charter changes that will head to voters in March. One would extend ranked choice voting to all city offices.
The first use of ranked choice for the City Council will take place in December…
The council advanced a proposed charter change that would extend ranked choice voting to more city offices. The city previously enacted ranked choice in 2005, but it was ended in 2010. In 2020, councilors aimed to bring the policy back, but it was vetoed by Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger. Following Weinberger’s first veto as mayor, a compromise was found where ranked choice would be applied to City Council elections only.
The resolution on Monday night passed with a vote of 7-3. Those opposed said they felt the previous approval of ranked choice for City Council elections meant they would wait until after those elections had taken place to get more public input on rolling it out to further city offices.
The first use of ranked choice for the City Council will take place in December, when voters in the East District head to the polls for a special election to fill that empty council seat. Council elections taking place on Town Meeting Day will also be decided by ranked choice.
The proposed charter change would enact ranked choice to all city officers: mayor, City Council, school commissioners and ward election officers.