Learn about how Cambridge’s proportional representation (ranked choice) voting system works.
Note: No animals were harmed in the making of this video.
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Cambridge City Council Elections are coming up and we want you to know how to vote!
Unlike most elections in the U.S. that practice a winner-take-all electoral process, Cambridge uses proportional representation also known as ranked-choice voting.
This means Cambridge voters rank their top choices on their ballots.
It seems simple enough, right? But what happens after that is where things get a little tricky.
Let’s use an example to explain how votes are counted:
Say there are 10 candidates running for 5 seats on the Zoo Council. Registered voters cast their ballots and their #1 votes are counted. Here are the standings after the first round:
100 ballots were cast in total, so we use this number to determine the minimum threshold, or quota, for a seat on the Zoo Council.
The 100 ballots are divided by the number of seats (5) +1. 100 divided by 6 equals 17. So once a candidate has 17 votes, she has been elected to the Zoo Council.
Blake Bear has 23 #1 votes, so she is awarded her seat right away. But she only needed 17 votes to meet the quota. Those 6 surplus votes aren’t helping her, so they get transferred to those voters’ #2 choice — Taylor Tiger, bringing her total to 16.
Leslie Lion got 17 #1 votes, so she wins her seat right away.
No one else has 17 votes yet, so now we begin eliminating candidates from the bottom up. Maddie Monkey has the fewest #1 votes, so her votes are transferred to their #2 choice — Emma Elephant. Emma’s total becomes 14 and we repeat the process with the next lowest #1 vote-getter, Zola Zebra.
Zola’s supporters were split on their #2 choice, so her votes get split accordingly. 2 votes go to Emma Elephant and 2 go to Franny Fox. They are now tied at 16 each.
Polly Parrot’s 5 votes are not enough to get her on the Zoo Council, so now they’re transferred as well. 1 vote goes to Emma Elephant (17), 2 votes go to Franny Fox (18), and 2 votes go to Germaine Giraffe (9). Franny Fox now has 18 votes, so she’s elected and her surplus vote is transferred to the #3 choice on that ballot — Germaine Giraffe (10).
With 1 seat left to fill, Roxy Rhino has the next fewest #1 votes and her votes are transferred to their #2 choice. Roxy and Leslie Lion campaigned together so all of Roxy’s supporters chose Leslie as their #2. But Leslie already has all the votes she needs. So Roxy’s 6 surplus votes are transferred to their #3 choice — Taylor Tiger. With those votes, Taylor hits quota and wins the 5th seat on the Zoo Council.
The new Zoo Council is made up of:
Blake Bear
Leslie Lion
Emma Elephant
Franny Fox
Taylor Tiger
Cambridge City Council elections work the exact same way — except with people, not animals.
There are 9 City Council seats and, on Election Day, Cambridge residents rank their top choices. In the 2015 City Council election the quota was 1,786 votes. The votes are counted and recounted until 9 candidates reach quota and are elected.
I hope this helps you feel better informed about the voting process in Cambridge. And, of course, I hope you’ll give me your #1 vote this Election Day.
