WASHINGTONIANS MAY GET A DEMOCRACY UPGRADE IN 2024
Washington State leaders are eyeing a suite of democracy and elections upgrades that would help ensure representation of communities, boost voter turnout, streamline administrative procedures, and offer more diverse candidate choices to advance the priorities of everyday Washingtonians.
The legislature has considered ranked choice voting, moving to even-year elections, and other improvements in the past, gaining familiarity with these reforms although not yet passing them. But interest in and execution of such advances is growing across the US, with jurisdictions from Alaska to Arizona, Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Portland, Oregon, offering examples of their benefits in action. The issues before Washington lawmakers are gaining the momentum they need that may finally usher them across the finish line in 2024.
Washington legislators face a different opportunity regarding ranked choice voting (RCV) than they did in years past. The question is no longer if Washington will use RCV, but rather how the state will use it. Will it be inconsistent, varying from one county to the next? Or will it follow choreographed steps based on what we’ve learned works well?
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In June 2023, however, the Washington State Supreme Court issued a ruling that specified that ranked choice voting is a remedy for violations of the Washington Voting Rights Act (WVRA). Because changes to local laws under the WVRA are allowed regardless of other state laws, the ruling opened the door for any governing body—from school district to city—to adopt RCV in response to a violation or potential violation of voting rights, as defined by the WVRA.
https://www.sightline.org/2024/01/16/washingtonians-may-get-a-democracy-upgrade-in-2024/