The Annapolis City Council will not consider switching to ranked choice voting in its final meeting ahead of November’s city elections, adding to a list of controversial items tabled in the last few weeks of the mayor and council term.
The ranked choice voting plan, introduced by Ward 1 Alderman Harry Huntley, would have switched the city’s local election system as of the 2029 primaries for city alderman and mayor.
Ranked choice voting is a system that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Votes are counted based on each voter’s top-ranked candidate, but if no candidate earns a majority of votes cast, the votes from the candidate with the fewest number of votes get sent to each ballot’s second-choice candidate. This process continues until a candidate has a majority of the votes.
The voting system is used in about 50 jurisdictions across the country, including New York City and Alaska statewide. Montgomery County’s Takoma Park has used ranked-choice voting in city elections since 2007.
Huntley confirmed to the Capital Gazette that he would be tabling the agenda item during Monday’s City Council meeting. He said he wanted to give more opportunity for the city’s Board of Supervisors of Elections and the city’s Rules and Government Committee to provide input on the legislation.
“Unfortunately, it was too ambitious to try to significantly change our elections while our election staff and volunteers—not to mention the council—were all busy with running elections. We have been working for many months on getting the details of this right, and the clock is just going to run out,” Huntley wrote in his newsletter.
Huntley said he plans to reintroduce a more streamlined version of the legislation early in the next council term if reelected, a position that was lauded by a proponent group.
“[Ranked choice voting] deserves full consideration and time for feedback. … We applaud the efforts by Aldermen Huntley and Savidge this session and are hopeful for future discussions on the legislation with the next Council. Ranked choice voting is giving voters more power and more choice across the country,” said Michelle Whittaker, executive director of Ranked Choice Voting Maryland, in a statement Monday.
The bill drew vocal support and opposition at a recent meeting, where most attendees argued that the change would give voters more choice in city elections, but a smaller contingent of critics said it could be confusing to some voters.
Two other bills were tabled at the second-to-last council meeting on Oct. 13: one that would have allowed duplex construction in more residential zones and another that would have changed policies around accessory dwelling units.
The duplex bill, also brought by Huntley, was criticized by public speakers at City Council meetings over concerns that allowing duplexes could disrupt the neighborhood feel of the city, contribute to traffic concerns and increase the number of short-term rentals. Huntley argued that the bill would have recreated historic housing policy in the city, as the city did allow the creation of duplexes in the medium-density residential zones until 1970, and
The accessory dwelling units bill, brought by Ward 5 Alderman Brooks Schandelmeier, would have changed regulations around ownership of the properties to allow more long-term renters and allow owners to use Federal Housing Administration loans for the properties. The legislation would have required one of the units to be owner-occupied if the other is a short-term rental, but would have allowed both units to be occupied by long-term rentals.
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