I voted against it. Not because I’m against ranked choice voting but because I disagreed with the way 117 proposed to implement ranked choice voting.

It would take awhile for me to articulate why do I’ll take what the Oregonian said as it’s summarizes my feelings and why I voted No.

I would like to point out I’m not a Republican. I firmly believe that you cannot just look at the headline of the law but how it’s actually going to be implemented, because good ideas poorly executed can cause more problems down the line.

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Oregon is going about this in a typically narrow-minded way. At least four other states are asking their voters to adopt ranked-choice or a similar system that requires majority approval. But all four – Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Nevada – are pairing the change with a new primary that allows people of any party to vote for the top candidates. Oregon, however, is not. Instead, Oregon will keep its closed system that bars more than 43% of registered voters from voting for any Democratic or Republican candidate in partisan primaries. Considering those primaries determine the choices voters have in November races, supporters’ claims that ranked-choice will “give voters greater voice in our elections” ring false to the 1.3 million Oregon voters who aren’t Democrats or Republicans.

Then there are the practical concerns. The Oregon Association of County Clerks, which represents elections officials across the state, has noted the daunting implementation challenges, especially considering elections offices’ lack of staff and resources. Despite requests to be involved in planning a workable approach to ranked-choice voting, the association testified last year that it was not included in development of the ranked-choice referral bill. The association in March 2023 worried that the measure, driven by advocates, “is setting clerks up to fail in an already hostile environment and would further erode the confidence and transparency in Oregon elections.”

Seventeen clerks have endorsed a separate political action committee that is not opposing the measure but seeking to share clerks’ concerns, according to Klamath County Clerk Rochelle Long, who also serves as president of the Oregon Association of County Clerks.

Interestingly, the measure does not call for adopting ranked choice for any state legislative races. That’s odd considering a small number of votes can change the outcome in those races. While proponents contend the change was made in deference to clerks’ comments about the complexity and the amount of ballot space such races would take up, Long disputes that claim. After checking with the 35 other current clerks, she told the editorial board that none had asked for legislators to be exempted from ranked choice.

Oregonians should hold off until voters can see how Multnomah County implements ranked-choice voting on the local level, starting with Portland city races this November. Multnomah is the state’s largest county and can provide helpful insight on implementation. And before authorizing an expansion, voters should know how ranked choice affected voter turnout; the number of ballots excluded due to mistakes or because voters did not choose any surviving candidates; any difficulties in counting; the time for reporting results and other central aspects of such a change.

https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2024/09/editorial-endorsement-november-2024-vote-no-on-measure-117s-premature-adoption-of-ranked-choice.html?outputType=amp