East Lansing ballot proposals: What you need to know before Nov. 7
EAST LANSING — Voters in East Lansing will weigh in on three ballot proposals; two that would change the city charter and a third that would implement ranked-choice voting.
The first two proposals were placed on the Nov. 7 ballot by a vote of the City Council. The ranked-choice proposal was placed on the ballot following a successful petition drive by Rank MI Vote, a non-partisan, volunteer-run group.
Before you fill out your ballot, or head to the polls on Nov. 7, here's a look at each proposal.
Altering the start of council members' terms
The first proposed charter amendment on the ballot would change when East Lansing City Council members start their terms after elections.
Under the current charter, their terms begin the Tuesday following that city election. If the measure passes, council members would instead start their terms "the first Tuesday following Jan. 1 of the following calendar year..." according to the ballot language.
Changing the size of City Council
The second proposed charter amendment would increase the size of the City Council by two members. The current makeup of five members, which includes the mayor and mayor pro tem, would increase to seven.
If it passes "the additional members shall be elected at the next regular city election as established by charter," the ballot language states.
Ranked choice voting measure
A third proposal asks voters to weigh in on implementing ranked-choice voting, a system that asks voters to rank their choices in any given race, rather than simply vote for a single candidate. To win an election, a candidate must receive 50% of the vote as the top choice.
"If someone doesn't have 50%, then the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated from contention," said Ron Zimmerman, the executive director for Rank MI Vote. Those candidates' votes are then redistributed to those voters' second choices, as indicated on their ballots, he said.
"That process just keeps going," until a candidate gets 50% of the vote, Zimmerman said.
Even if East Lansing voters pass the proposal, local elections won't be decided by ranked-choice voting because the state's Bureau of Elections has no certified process in place for the system. Michigan hasn't put one in place, but Zimmerman said Rank MI Vote aims to "apply pressure" on the state to do so by advocating for more cities to adopt ranked-choice voting proposals.
Ferndale and Ann Arbor have adopted similar measures, he said.
Contact Rachel Greco at rgreco@lsj.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, @GrecoatLSJ .
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Greater Lansing ballot proposals for Nov. 7 election - What you need to know
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing ballot proposals: What you need to know before Nov. 7
