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I’m thrilled there is a bill at the state legislature that would give all Minnesota cities the ability to adopt ranked choice voting. While five cities in our state already use ranked choice voting for their local elections, the vast majority — including my home city of Mankato — are not able to even consider this exciting reform.

That’s where this bill comes in, by allowing all cities, counties, and even school districts to use ranked choice voting for their elections if they want to.

As the election season heats up, I’m regularly reminded of the top five reasons I support ranked choice voting:

1. It gives voters more choices and more power.

2. It encourages positive campaigning and civility.

3. It solves the spoiler problem if there is a close race.

4. It promotes fairer elections by making sure winners have the most support possible.

5. It reduces polarization and gridlock.

Ranked choice voting is the most cost effective and efficient way to ensure winners have broad voter support.

When cities, counties, or school districts implement ranked choice voting, they get rid of expensive, low-turnout primaries in favor of a single, higher-turnout election. Let’s hope the ranked choice voting local options bill passes this year so more voters can feel empowered when going to the polls, and more campaigns are civil and focused on issues voters care about.

Mary Ebert

Kilkenny, Minnesota