With so many qualified candidates, the winner of this election will most likely need under 20% to win with massive advantages for those from large cities and who can self-fund or rely on wealthy, politically established connections.
By Chris Van Buskirk | August 20, 2020
—
BOSTON — A significant majority of the Democratic candidates in the Fourth Congressional District race support the initiative petition on the Nov. 2 ballot that seeks to implement a ranked choice voting system in the 2022 elections.
The field includes eight contenders who are seeking to fill the seat that U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III is giving up as he challenges U.S. Sen. Ed Markey this election cycle. Out of the eight candidates who responded to a News Service request for their positions on the major voting reform, seven voiced concrete support for the ballot question — an initiative that appears designed to come into play in races with large fields just like the one the candidates are competing in in the Fourth Congressional race.
Natalia Linos, Ihssane Leckey, Ben Sigel, Jake Auchincloss, Jesse Mermell, Becky Grossman, and Alan Khazei all voiced support for the initiative, saying ranked choice voting increases representation of people of color, boosts election participation and encourages candidates to appeal to a wider base of voters.
Sigel, in his response, said the current Congressional race is an example of why the state needs the new system…
