Windsor's manager of records and elections isn't sure what he'll recommend to city council on the question of ranked balloting.
Chuck Scarpelli says it's far too early to form one. "We're kind of taking a wait and see attitude," he says.
The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing is forming a working group. It will examine the advantages and disadvantages of replacing the current system called First Past the Post. With ranked balloting, a voter will rank their choices from first to last.
"You have to have 50% plus one in order to get elected," says Scarpelli. "If nobody gets 50% plus one, the person with the least number of votes gets dropped off. Those votes get distributed (among the other candidates), and you keep doing this until you're left with two candidates, or somebody at least gets 50% plus one."
Scarpelli says he's unsure what the ballot would look like, and how the instant runoff would work.
Once the working group makes its recommendation, and if the Ministry decides to adopt ranked balloting, it will have to change the Elections Act. The new system could be in place in time for the 2018 municipal election. The system is in use in some U.S. cities including San Francisco.
