Cumulative voting

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Cumulative voting is an electoral method in which an elector may cast as many votes as there are seats up for election. An elector may give more than one vote to a candidate. For example, in an electoral contest with five winners, a voter may choose to divide his or her five votes in any combination; the voter may give three votes to one candidate, and two votes to another, or all five to a single candidate.

Noteworthy events

2018

California

On July 26, 2018, Judge Walter Schwarm, of the Superior Court of Orange County, signed an order establishing the use of cumulative voting in Mission Viejo municipal elections beginning in 2020, marking the conclusion of a challenge to the city's electoral system initiated by Kevin Shenkman, an election law attorney, on behalf of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project on September 26, 2017. On that date, Shenkman filed a letter with city officials alleging that Mission Viejo's at-large electoral system for city council seats violated the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA): "Mission Viejo’s at-large system dilutes the ability of Latinos (a ‘protected class’) — to elect candidates of their choice or otherwise influence the outcome of Mission Viejo’s council elections." A series of five public hearings on the matter ensued. On February 13, 2018, the Mission Viejo City Council voted unanimously to pursue an alternative voting system after concluding that district elections would not ameliorate the CVRA violation alleged by Shenkman. On July 20, 2018, Shenkman and Mission Viejo City Attorney Bill Curley requested that Schwarm order the use of cumulative voting in future council elections.

New York

On October 10, 2018, voters in Port Chester, New York, approved a ballot measure establishing a cumulative voting system for trustee elections. Cumulative voting had been used for the past three trustee elections; the 2018 measure made this system permanent. The referendum was approved by a vote of 746 to 432.

1993

Ohio

On May 4, 1993, voters in Cincinnati, Ohio, rejected a charter amendment, titled Issue 1, to adopt cumulative voting for electing the Cincinnati City Council. Around 79% voted against Issue 1. In Clarke v. Cincinnati, the Cincinnati City Council agreed to research new electoral systems and refer one to the ballot for May 4, 1993. On February 16, 1993, the council voted 7-2 to refer the cumulative voting amendment to the ballot.

1980

Illinois

On November 4, 1980, voters in Illinois approved a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment to eliminate cumulative voting, which had been used to elect state representatives for 110 years. The vote was 68.70% to 31.30%. Before 1982, when the amendment took effect, the House of Representatives was divided into 59 districts, and voters in each district elected three representatives. An elector was given three votes, which could be distributed among candidates. An elector could give one candidate three votes, give three candidates one vote each, or divide the votes between two candidates. The system of cumulative voting was adopted on July 2, 1870, when voters approved a constitutional amendment. Earlier in 1870, a state constitutional convention was held in Illinois. The convention voted 46-17 to place the cumulative voting amendment on the ballot.

See also

• Electoral system
• Block voting system
• Ranked-choice voting

External links

• FairVote
• ACE: The Electoral Knowledge Network