Instant Runoff Voting is primarily a system for choosing a single winner, suitable for electing our Mayor, Ward Aldermen, and School Committee members. For the Alderman At-Large election, the appropriate voting system is a multiple-winner form of IRV, known as Choice Voting, capable of electing all four At-Large seats at once.
IRV and Choice Voting are in fact the same voting system. “Instant Runoff Voting” is just the name for that system when it is used to elect one person, and "Choice Voting" is the name when electing more than one. Both IRV and Choice use the same preferential ballot on which candidates are ranked, so they’re both literally as easy as 1, 2, 3.
Here’s a video describing Choice Voting:
If we used Choice Voting for the Alderman at Large race, you could honestly rank the candidates on the ballot in order of preference — A, B, C — without worrying that a later rank could hurt the chances of an earlier rank. If candidate A needs your full vote to get elected, your vote will count towards A. If A lacks enough votes to win, your vote will instead count towards B; and if B lacks enough votes, then it will count towards C. Also, if A only needs half your vote to win, then the other half will count towards your remaining choices.
Choice Voting, if enacted, wouldn’t be entirely new to Somerville. Back in 1949, Somerville voters approved it at the ballot box for elections to the Board of Alderman, but the state legislature barred it from being implemented.
Read more about how Choice Voting encourages honest voting by eliminating the incentive to “bullet vote” and ensures full representation for the Somerville community. Choice Voting is the multi-winner voting method endorsed by the world’s leading electoral reform organizations, including FairVote in the U.S. and the Electoral Reform Society of the UK. It is highly regarded by academics and reformers alike.
