Emil Amok » SF Supes race, District 3 Update: David Chiu, the popular winner, but is he the ranked choice?

SF Supes race, District 3 Update: David Chiu, the popular winner, but is he the ranked choice?

By: Emil, Nov 06, 2008

Tags: general |

I have prematurely declared David Chiu the victor of the District 3 Supervisors race in San Francisco.

While Chiu did win the popular vote with more than 39 percent of the vote, he did not win the majority required for an official victory. The San Francisco Dept. of Elections is counting the rank choice ballots to determine if a winner can be determined without a run-off. As of late Thursday, Chiu was comfortably ahead of his nearest rival by 16 points in the first rank-choice ballot count. Still, it could take a few more days before results are final.

The instant run-off is far from instant.

Comments

The ranked choice voting system was never promoted as an “instant” run-off. The department of elections, an under-funded agency, has to count 100 percent of the ballots before the 2nd choice votes can be counted.

Let’s allow every voter’s voice to be heard.

–Mark Barker on Nov 07, 2008
Rank choice has always been sold as a way to expedite the process, most especially in situations like this. “Instant” is always intended to be relative. But you have hit on the negating factor in all this—”underfunded” bureaucracies.
Maybe we can ship the ballots offshore to be counted cheaper and faster.

–Emil on Nov 07, 2008

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