SEATTLE — Seattle voters will consider two measures in November that would change primary elections in the city.
Propositions 1A and 1B would let voters either select as many candidates for mayor, city attorney and city council as they like or rank those candidates by preference.
If Proposition 1A passes, voters would be allowed to select as many candidates as they like on a ballot. The two candidates that receive the most votes for each office would advance to the general election. This is known as approval voting.
If Proposition 1B is approved, voters would rank each candidate from favorite to least favorite. Each voter's top preference would be counted. Candidates would be eliminated through successive rounds of counting until two candidates that received the most votes remain. This is known as ranked-choice voting.
Voters will have the choice to vote no on both measures.
Currently, Seattle voters must select one candidate for each office on a ballot. The votes are counted and the top two candidates for each office proceed to the general election.
A statement in favor of the proposed changes says, in part: "Seattle deserves to be represented by leaders who reflect the will of the people. However, our current 'choose-one' primary limits voters’ choices. Often, voters are unhappy with the top-two winners they must choose between in the General Election. Proposition 1 helps solve this problem."
A statement against the changes to elections says, in part: "With urgent issues facing our city and nation, now isn’t the time to experiment with unproven changes to Seattle’s elections. Both 'ranked choice' and 'approval' voting, presented without meaningful community engagement, would create unnecessary cost and confusion at a time when Seattle is finally making progress addressing homelessness and public safety, and city leadership is historically diverse."