In the News
March 17, 2022
In this article published in The Stranger, women voters demand a voting system better than approval voting, citing RepresentWomen's research and quoting Cynthia's comments. Read an excerpt below:
While signature gatherers for the measure have earned a reputation for advertising Approval voting as an election system similar to Ranked-choice voting (RCV), LWVSKC and another group called Represent Women said it’s worth holding out for RCV when it comes to selecting a system that would lead to gender parity and diverse representation more broadly.
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Kelly said that both Approval voting and RCV require candidates to step out of their bubbles – even candidates who appeal to the numerical majority of voters – and connect with different voting blocs.
In theory, candidates would have to gain wide appeal under both systems. Seattle Approves has clung to this argument throughout its campaign, asserting that Approval voting won’t lead to bland moderates winning but rather “popular” candidates.
However, Women Represent Executive Director Cynthia Richie Terrell said that “popular” candidates would actually translate to “status-quo” candidates, because Approval voting does not express preference for one candidate relative to another. In the same vein, Kelly said “popular” candidates could equate to candidates we are used to seeing in power: White men.
While Kelly said RCV was not a “silver bullet for sexism,” she argued that without ranking the candidates voters could more flagrantly express bigotry by approving of everyone but marginalized candidates.
Sardinas pushed back on the claim that Approval voting would preserve the status quo. In the 2021 mayoral election in St. Louis, Approval voting resulted in two women rising to the top in the primary. Ultimately, Tishaura Jones won, becoming the city’s first Black woman mayor. In contrast to LWVKC, the League of Women Voters St. Louis adamantly supported Approval voting.
Read the full the article here.
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