SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2445        FILED ON: 5/28/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2229

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Donald F. Humason, Jr.

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act amending the home rule charter of the city of Easthampton.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 2445        FILED ON: 5/28/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2229

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

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An Act amending the home rule charter of the city of Easthampton.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1. Article 1 is hereby amended with the insertion of a new Section 1-7 Definitions (in alphabetical order) to read as follows:

Ranked Choice Voting means an election system in which voters rank the candidates for an office in order of preference. In Ranked Choice Voting, each voter casts a single vote by ranking candidates in order of preference, indicating the voter’s first choice, second choice, and so forth until the voter has assigned a single numerical ranking to each candidate on the ballot, or the voter chooses to stop ranking. When ballots are counted, if one candidate receives fifty percent (50%) of the first choice votes cast for the office in the election, the candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate receives fifty percent (50%) of the first choice votes cast in the first round, an instant runoff automatically occurs. In each instant runoff, the candidate receiving the least number of votes in the prior round is withdrawn from the election (“Withdrawn Candidate”).  The highest ranked non-Withdrawn Candidate of each voter is the voter’s first choice vote, and such first choice vote is used in calculating the total number of votes for each remaining non-Withdrawn Candidate. The instant runoff process is repeated until a candidate receives fifty percent (50%) of the total first choice votes cast for the office in the election, at which time a winner is declared. A Ranked Choice Voting ballot shall not interfere with a voter’s ability to rank at least one write-in candidate.

SECTION 2. Article 7, is hereby amended with the insertion of a new Section 7-1.1, Election of Mayor by Ranked Choice Voting, to read as follows:

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the election for office of mayor shall be conducted using Ranked Choice Voting.

SECTION 3. Article 7, is hereby amended by the insertion of a new Section 7-1.2, Election of District City Councilor by Ranked Choice Voting, to read as follows:

Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the elections for district city councilors shall be conducted using Ranked Choice Voting.

SECTION 4. Article 3, Section 3-1 is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:

(b) Section 3-1. Mayor; Term of Office the term of office of the mayor shall be four (4) years beginning on the first Monday of January following the biennial city election at which chosen and until a successor is qualified.

SECTION 5. Should the voters of the city adopt the provisions of Section 7-1.1 or 7-1.2,

Article 9, Section 9-6 is hereby amended by adding the following new subsection:

In order to implement Ranked Choice Voting the city council president shall appoint an ad hoc committee to draft an ordinance establishing the ballot format and the procedural rules for casting and counting the Ranked Choice Voting votes.  The committee shall also be tasked with establishing an implementation budget.  The ad hoc committee shall consist of seven (7) members:  one (1) shall be the city clerk or his/her designee, one (1) shall be a member of the board of registrars of voters, three (3) shall be registered voters in the city and two (2) shall be members of the city council.

General provisions for Ranked Choice Voting elections shall be specified by ordinance; provided, however, that a voter’s lower ranked choices shall not impact the likelihood of a voter’s higher ranked choices being elected. To the extent possible, a Ranked Choice Voting ballot shall allow voters to rank as many choices as there are candidates. In the event that the voting equipment cannot accommodate a number of rankings on the ballot equal to the number of candidates, the board of registrars of voters may limit the number of choices a voter may rank to the maximum number allowed by the voting equipment. A Ranked Choice Voting ballot shall not interfere with a voter’s ability to rank at least one write-in candidate.

The ad hoc committee shall present its proposal to the city council for its review and adoption, with or without amendments.  The ordinance will become effective for the first regular biennial city election after approval, dependent upon funding in accordance with the implementation budget. The budget limitation shall only be applicable for the first biennial election following voter approval.  Ranked Choice Voting shall be implemented by the second regular biennial city election following voter approval of either Section 2 or Section 3 of this Act.

SECTION 6. Sections 2 and 3 and 4 of this Act shall only take effect upon voter ratification of each section considered as separate ballot questions. 

Sections 1 and 5 will only take effect if either Section 2 or 3 are ratified by the voters.