On Wednesday, May 21st, South Brunswick joined Hoboken, Jersey City, Red Bank, Princeton, South Orange, Maplewood and Montclair by taking formal action in favor of Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV). The South Brunswick Township Council passed a resolution expressing support for S1622/A4042 which would authorize the use of Ranked Choice Voting in municipal and school board elections. This resolution also expresses support for the use of ranked-choice voting in South Brunswick’s municipal and school board elections once the bill is approved by the state. RCV as a movement is gaining momentum and catching on in New Jersey, and with good reason. 

Ranked-choice voting is a voting process which allows voters to rank multiple candidates on their ballot in order of preference, and requires that a winning candidate receive support from a majority of voters. RCV is used across the globe, has been adopted statewide in Maine and Alaska, and is used in New York City and cities across the country. Supporters tout RCV as a way to ensure voters’ opinions are more accurately reflected by election results, as well as to address issues of political polarization, “strategic voting” and the “spoiler effect” that frustrate voters and candidates alike every election cycle. 

On May 7th, VCNJ Executive Team Lead Renee Steinhagen and other South Brunswick residents appeared at the township’s municipal meeting to advocate for the resolution.

“What we’re asking you to do is create pressure on the state legislators to just let municipalities have the option: have the option to adopt ranked choice voting, either for their municipal elections, or for their school board elections. We’re hoping that once citizens approve it and start using it, people will like it and we can change how our elections are really working,” Steinhagen said.