Matthew St. Onge’s recent letter suggesting that Concord residents should be able to prioritize major spending projects via Ranked Choice Voting is a good idea, since it would give residents more say in which projects are most important to them. New Hampshire towns and cities could also benefit from using RCV for their local elections.

House Bill 600, enabling ranked choice voting for municipal elections, would do just that. This non-partisan bill with bi-partisan support doesn’t establish RCV, but only enables municipalities to take the steps necessary to opt-in for municipal elections if they so choose. A municipality that wants to opt-in to RCV can choose which municipal election(s) or which offices they wish to opt-in for. RCV election costs are low and could even save money in some municipalities. Voting rounds can be run very quickly and be implemented in hand-count towns. RCV encourages competition without the problems of vote-splitting. It’s also very popular in the U.S. municipalities that use it, including 51 jurisdictions that are home to nearly 14 million voters. If you value more choice and more voice in your municipal elections, please express your support for HB 600.

Debbie Augustine

Contoocook