Despite the power of public matching funds to propel political outsiders into contention, the biggest story in this year's Portland city elections according to political newcomer, Jas Davis, is the failure of our current voting system to deliver democratic results.
A week prior to the election, Davis wrote to local press, saying "Our current choose-one voting system will likely result in the winners of this race moving forward with less than a majority of the vote, which means a minority of voters will determine who gets to sit on the city council."
With 18 candidates in the race, Davis suggested the primary vote will be split across a dozen candidates, pointing out that all major media had endorsed different political insiders while all activist organizations had endorsed various newcomers. He suggests the two 'winners' could go into a runoff with less than 20% of the vote.
"You might as well throw mud at a wall and see which is the biggest glob," said Davis, "a lot of people's votes will be wasted, while a minority of voters will hit the jackpot and actually vote for one of the two winners."
Vote splitting is an old problem that Davis says can be solved using STAR Voting. STAR stands for "Score Then Automatic Runoff," and it is a preference voting system created in Oregon 6 years ago that improves on its predecessor, Ranked Choice Voting, to allow voters to score (rather than rank) as many candidates as they wish from zero to five. The two highest-scoring candidates go to an automatic runoff, and whether or not a voter's favorite candidate makes the runoff, their vote goes to the finalist they preferred. The winner is the finalist preferred by more voters. STAR Voting eliminates vote splitting (aka the spoiler effect) and guarantees a winner supported by the majority.
STAR Voting has gained widespread appeal over the past few years, and Davis was not the only candidate to favor STAR Voting in his race. Both Margot Black and Julia DeGraw also expressed support for STAR Voting as a systemic answer to solve vote splitting. This year, STAR Voting is being used in a statewide election by the Independent Party of Oregon, and it has gained enough signatures to be on the ballot for city elections in Eugene.
"Regardless of who wins this election," Davis says, "we should all commit to reform our voting system to make our elections more democratic."
When poll results came in a week later, Davis saw his predictions unfold. D
ue to our current system that allows vote splitting, just 35% of voters decided who will have a chance to sit on the city council. The two finalists 'won' with 16-18% of the vote. Davis was one of many candidates supported by the other 65% of voters. This election, according to Davis, was a perfect example of why we need STAR Voting to produce truly democratic election results.###
About Jas Davis
James "Jas" Davis is a small business owner of Awakenings Wellness Center and a board member of the Equal Vote Coalition. His biggest issues revolve around the health of our democracy as well as the economic and ecological well-being and resilience of our communities. Davis announced his candidacy March 1st and secured over 300 donations in less than two weeks to qualify for city matching funds, then went on to receive the second-highest number of donations of any outsider in his race in a very crowded field, all while limiting his fundraising appeals to not more than $50 during this economic crisis. Davis entered the race championing STAR Voting for more democratic elections, a public bank to shore up Portland's economic stability, and increasing local food resilience so we are not dependent on global food systems during times of crisis. He believes the current crisis has only reinforced the need for the positions he champions.
