Robert-Falcon Ouellette has come out in support of ranked ballots as an alternative to first-past-the-post for future Winnipeg elections.
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In an interview with the Manitoban Tuesday Ouellette voiced his support for ranked ballots at the municipal level saying they could lead to election results that are more representative of people’s real preferences.
Under a ranked ballot system, voters rate their preference of candidates.
In its most common form, the candidate with the lowest number of “first” votes is eliminated and their votes are transferred to the next favourite candidate on the voters list.
This process continues until one candidate has the majority of votes.
“I think this is one of the most important things that we could be experimenting with at the municipal level,” said Ouellette.
“The people who are often elected say ‘Well, I was elected under the old system, and that favours me’ and so they’re very unwilling often to change and actually look at ways of doing things differently.”
Robert-Falcon Ouellette is one of seven mayoral candidates for Winnipeg’s 2014 election and the first to weigh in on the topic of ranked or preferential ballots.
The Manitoban has contacted other candidates asking them for their position on ranked ballots but has not yet received any responses.
