Letter to Editor | Check out this presentation on Ranked Choice Voting

||| FROM SHARON ABREU |||

I encourage you to tune into FairVote Washington’s NW Chapter’s one-hour online presentation on Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) happening on Jan. 27 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. 

I’ve been a supporter of RCV since I first learned about it back in 2004. I realized at that time that this method of voting gives voters more choice,  encourages more people to run for office and less negative campaigning, and promotes more democracy in our country. With RCV, you can vote for the candidate you like best without “throwing away” your vote and without fear of “splitting” the vote. This is very exciting to me!

There are two RCV bills which will be considered in the Washington State Legislature’s short session that just started. They are the Local Options Bill (HB 1156 & SB 5584)  and the Presidential Primaries Bill (HB 1926 & SB 5851). At the Jan. 27 online event, you’ll learn how you can comment on these four bills. You can check out the bills here:

Local Options Bill House: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1156&Initiative=false&Year=2021  
Local Options Bill Senate: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5584&Initiative=false&Year=2021

and

Presidential Primaries Bill House: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=1926&Initiative=false&Year=2021
Presidential Primaries Bill Senate: https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary?BillNumber=5851&Initiative=false&Year=2021 

I’m very hopeful that 2022 is the year Ranked Choice Voting comes to Washington State AND for presidential primaries!

Wishing you all the best for the coming year!