Council backs home‑rule petition to allow proportional ranked‑choice voting and lower multi‑seat trigger

On June 11 the Government Services Committee recommended a home‑rule petition asking the state legislature to permit proportional (multi-seat) ranked‑choice voting in Salem and to change the trigger for multi‑seat RCV from "candidates exceed twice the number of seats" to "candidates exceed the number of seats." The full council voted unanimously to forward the petition to Beacon Hill.

Committee members said proportional RCV is widely used and can make more votes count in multi-seat contests and reduce the need for separate preliminary races. Witnesses included registrars and advocacy groups: Dr. Alexander Panero Shields described the democratic benefits, while Donald Bates raised technical concerns and cited past rollbacks elsewhere; Ed Shoemaker of Voter Choice Massachusetts and local advocates offered to support voter education.

Councilors said the petition is a first step: if the legislature authorizes the local option the city would still place the change before Salem voters for a binding decision. Proponents argued the change could raise turnout and reduce vote‑splitting in primaries; opponents cautioned about voter education needs and the legislative process.

Next steps: the petition will be filed with the state legislature; if approved there will be a local ballot question and a period of voter education recommended by committee members and outside groups.