CITY of ALBUQUERQUE
TWENTY SIXTH COUNCIL
COUNCIL BILL NO.
O-24-26 ENACTMENT NO. ________________________
SPONSORED BY: Nichole Rogers and Tammy Fiebelkorn
ORDINANCE
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Adopting A Ranked Choice Voting System, Repealing And Replacing Article II, Sections 7 And 8 Of The City Charter, And Directing The City Clerk To Develop Educational Materials (Rogers and Fiebelkorn)
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WHEREAS, The City of Albuquerque City Charter includes an election provision requiring elected office holders to receive at least 50% of the total number of votes cast for their respective office in order to be elected, stating: "Those persons who are candidates for Mayor or Councilor and receive the largest number of votes cast for the office in question are elected, provided the number of votes equals or exceeds 50% of the total number of votes cast for the office."; and
WHEREAS, At present, if not candidate for office meets the 50% threshold required by the Charter, a runoff election must be held within 45 days where the two candidates with the highest number of votes cat are placed on the ballot; and
WHEREAS, Since the runoff provisions have been in place, the City has been required to hold five runoff elections, including:
* A City Council runoff election in 2013 (which included a city-wide election in order to also accommodate a ballot initiative), which cost the City $667,045;
* A Mayoral runoff election in 2017, which cost the City $840,890;
* A City Council runoff election in 2019, which cost the City $368,675;
* Two City Council runoff elections in 2021, which cost the City $610,424; and
* A City Council runoff election in 2023, which cost the City $500,000; and
WHEREAS, A ranked choice voting system, also commonly referred to as an "instant runoff" would help eliminate costly separate runoff elections in the City, and avoid holding a runoff in the middle of the winter holiday season for candidates, elected officials, voters; and
WHEREAS,...
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