No Primary in Minneapolis on Sept. 15

Ranked Choice Voting means all candidates will be on the ballot in November

Tomorrow, Sept. 15, voters will turn out to vote in municipal primaries throughout the metro area. However, there will be no Primary in Minneapolis. That’s because this year, Minneapolis will use a new voting method called Ranked Choice Voting.

This new voting method combines the Primary and General Elections into a single election so there is no Primary and all candidates appear on the November ballot. On November 3, voters in Minneapolis will be able to rank their choices for Mayor, City Council, Board of Estimate and Taxation, and Park and Recreation Board.

Minneapolis is using Ranked Choice Voting as result of a referendum that voters passed in 2006. Much like the current system, voters will vote by filling in an oval on a paper ballot. What’s new is that voters can also mark a different 2nd and 3rd choice candidate on the same ballot, in the columns just to the right of a voter’s first choice.