Eugene will not put new voting system on the ballot in November

Eugene will not put new voting system on the ballot in November

Inland.

This morning, we can tell you that "star" voting won't be happening anytime soon in the city of eugene.

City councilors voted against it in a narrow decision.

The star voting system?which stands for 'score, then automatic run off'?was created in 2014 during a conference at the university of oregon.

Kezi 9 news reporter jacob roberts joins us live in downtown eugene.

Jacob, "star" supporters say this system promotes more equality in local elections?

The eugene city council voted 5 to 4 last night against the new voting method.

Even if they had said 'yes', it still would have had to go before voters for approval in november.

Here's how the system would have worked in eugene: instead of a may primary for mayor and city councilor, the candidates would be voted on at the november general election.

Voters would be given a ratings ballot, on which each voter rates every candidate from 0 to 5.

The scores for each candidate would then be totaled, and the two highest- rated candidates selected as finalists.

In the instant- runoff, the finalist who was given a higher rating on a greater number of ballots is elected to office.

But one councilor said now is not the time to make major changes to the election process.

While there are parts of it i find very intriguing i do have concerns and we have not taken the time to vet the system, changing our entire voting system is a large step there's also the issue of cost.

Whatever it costs to implement the new system would be an expense to the city of eugene.

That would include an upfront cost of around 200- thousand dollars, plus additional expenses each election cycle.

Live in eugene, jr, kezi 9 news.