Drafter
Clerk 10/07/2008
Title
A MOTION requesting the King County citizens' elections oversight committee to study rank choice voting and report to the council by January 2, 2010.
Body
WHEREAS, the King County Charter is the county's constitution and the cornerstone of King County government, and
WHEREAS, the King County Charter has served King County well during the almost forty years since the charter was originally approved by the voters, and
WHEREAS, in order to keep the charter current to meet the needs of King County, the charter provides for a citizen commission to be assembled every ten years to review the charter and recommend for consideration by the metropolitan King County council any charter amendments that the commission deems necessary, and
WHEREAS, the 2007-2008 King County Charter review commission held its first meeting on February 27, 2007, and since then has met, either as a full commission or in one of four subcommittees, more than forty times and held thirteen public forums, including at least one in every council district, and
WHEREAS, the commission has received testimony and reviewed written submissions from well over one hundred persons and organizations regarding more than three hundred fifty suggestions for charter amendments, and
WHEREAS, the commission has carefully considered all the suggested charter amendments and has recommended a list of amendments for consideration by the council, and
WHEREAS, the commission transmitted its final report and recommendations to the metropolitan King County council on May 30, 2008, and
WHEREAS, in the exercise of the council's duty under the charter, the council will carefully review and consider the commission's report and recommendations, and
WHEREAS, the commission recommended that the council convene a citizen commission no later than January 2010 to examine instant runoff voting, also known as rank choice voting, and report its findings to the council by January 2011, and
WHEREAS, the council enacted Ordinance 15453 in April of 2006 that established the King County citizens' elections oversight committee whose mission is to help King County restore and maintain public confidence in elections, in part, by making recommendations to the council to improve the performance of the elections division, and to help ensure that accountability and performance of the elections division is provided in a transparent manner that is meaningful to the residents of King County, and
WHEREAS, the King County citizens' elections oversight committee has made well in excess of one hundred recommendations for actions to improve the accuracy and openness of King County elections, and
WHEREAS, nearly all the recommendations of the King County citizens' elections oversight committee have been implemented and resulted in greatly improved elections operations and improved public confidence in elections;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT MOVED by the Council of King County:
The council hereby requests that the King County citizens' elections oversight committee study the potential advantages and disadvantages of instant runoff or rank choice voting and provide a written report to the council, in the form of eleven copies to the clerk of the council, no later than January 2, 2010.
The council further requests that the King County citizens' elections oversight committee's initial study work focus on whether or not the new elections equipment and software that the executive intends to purchase would be capable of conducting rank choice voting. The initial findings on this matter should be reported to the council as
soon as reasonably practicable by letter to councilmembers delivered in the form of eleven copies to the clerk of the council, for distribution to all councilmembers.