To the Editor:

Why should Princeton want to use Ranked Choice Voting? Our District 16 Senator, Andrew Zwicker, believes that Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is an election reform that would provide more choice for New Jersey voters. He is one of the primary sponsors of the Municipal and School Board Voting Options Act, S3369.

This bill will provide municipalities with the legal power to implement RCV in local (municipal and School Board) elections anywhere in New Jersey if the municipality’s residents vote to do so. I have spoken with Princeton voters who suggest that RCV is unnecessary in Princeton because we so often have minimal competition among our candidates. This is, unfortunately, true. An added advantage of RCV is that it is likely to attract more candidates for office, giving us more choice, when potential candidates see that RCV is likely to give them a better chance to be elected.

Fortunately, in our upcoming School Board election we have five candidates for three seats. I find myself wishing that we could use RCV because I, and others I’ve spoken to, would not feel the need to do strategic voting which basically limits who we vote for. But wishing does not make it so. To have the choice of using RCV, we need to urge our legislators to pass S3369 (and A5039).

Learn more about RCV in New Jersey at Voterchoicenj.org and if you decide that having the choice to use RCV in NJ would provide the election reform we need, take action.

Susan Colby
RepresentUs New Jersey Chapter
Bunn Drive