I can understand the impulse to just reject every Portland ballot question outright, but the voter should read and think about the merits of each individual issue. For instance, Question 4 corrects an error in the manner we currently practice ranked-choice voting. Question 4 authorizes the city to use a proportional ranked-choice voting method for multi-seat elections.
The current charter requires as a threshold a majority, greater than 50 percent, of ballots being cast to select a winner in the ranked-choice voting process. Unfortunately, when this method is practiced for a multi-seat election, the math does not result in a fair representation of the electorate.
Recall last year when a Charter Commission candidate with 4 percent of the vote overcame a candidate with 21 percent? I don’t think anyone can say that result was fair and resulted in a balanced commission. For a further explanation, refer to the Portland Phoenix article “How did this happen?”
Bill Weber
Portland
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