By Anne Levin

At its meeting Monday night, Princeton Council passed a resolution in support of a bill authorizing the use of ranked choice voting in municipal and school board elections. Sponsored in the state legislature by Sen. Andrew Zwicker, the bill would allow individual towns to adopt the approach through referendums.

Council President Mia Sacks read a statement from Zwicker that said, “When it comes to our elections, we know there are existing reforms that can help make them more fair and open, and make political campaigns more friendly. Everywhere in our country that ranked choice voting has been implemented, voter turnout increases, negativity in campaigns decreases, and public discourse is strengthened.”

Princeton joins Red Bank, Hoboken, and Jersey City in supporting the measure. “Now is the time to work together to create a system where voters of all backgrounds can feel represented,” Zwicker’s statement concluded. “Ranked choice voting is integral to that system, and the time to do so is now.”

Ranked choice voting is a process that allows voters to rank candidates for a particular office in order of preference. In a race where four candidates are running for a single seat, voters rank the candidates 1-4, with the candidate ranked as 1 as being the voter’s highest preference. If a candidate is the first choice of more than half the voters, that candidate wins the election. But if no candidate gets the majority of the vote, the one with the least amount of support is eliminated, and the process continues until a candidate wins more than half the vote.

In a statement issued Tuesday on behalf of the Council, Sacks wrote in an email, “Princeton’s local Democratic club, the Princeton Community Democratic Organization (PCDO), which endorses candidates, and the Princeton Democratic Municipal Committee, which determines ballot placement, have successfully used ranked choice voting for local candidates for the last half decade. Princeton Council supports measures such as S1585 that are intended to empower voters and broaden representation in government at the local and state level.”

Representatives from organizations such as Voter Choice NJ thanked Council for their support of the measure.

“You are once again putting Princeton on the map,” said David Goodman of RepresentUs New Jersey. Goodman added that Princeton and the Council “have been leaders in democracy reform before,” he said, referring to work with former Mayor Liz Lempert and the governing body on approving the first anti-corruption resolution in the U.S. a decade ago.

Another member of Voter Choice NJ said a ranked choice voting mock election event will be held on September 17 from 7-9 p.m. at Princeton United Methodist Church.

Also at the meeting, Councilwoman Eve Niedergang said that the Princeton Environmental Commission has received an award in recognition of its Green House Tour events, which are co-sponsored by Sustainable Princeton and showcase homes that create healthier and more energy-efficient environments through green building practices. The next tour is on Saturday, September 28, and will be followed on October 19 by a video screening of three of the houses, and a panel discussion at Princeton Public Library.

Councilwoman Leticia Fraga reported that National Welcoming Week is September 13-22, to be kicked off with a cultural exchange night of music, dancing, and more on Hinds Plaza. The town’s Human Services Department is accepting applications from members of the community who would like to have a table sharing information about their culture at the event.

The next meeting of Council is September 9 at 7 p.m. Visit princetonnj.gov for more information.