By BENJAMIN SWASEY | September 4, 2019
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An effort to have Massachusetts voters next year weigh in on a ranked-choice voting system moved a step forward Wednesday, as it was one of 12 initiative petitions certified by the state attorney general.
Certification means the AG’s office found the petitions met constitutional muster. The office certified 10 proposed laws and two proposed constitutional amendments, and rejected four other proposed laws.
Here’s how ranked-choice voting works: Voters could, if they want, rank candidates in order of preference. If one candidate wins more than 50% of support after the initial round, that candidate wins. But if no candidate receives majority support, the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated, and that candidate’s voters are divvied up, based on voters’ next-highest-ranked picks. This process is repeated until one candidate crosses the 50% threshold.
