What is Proposition D?
Prop D reformed St. Louis City elections to put the people in charge. Our city needs strong, bold, visionary leadership to thrive--and that starts with elected officials who have broad support from the electorate. Prop D changed the way that we elect key public officials-- our Mayor, Comptroller, Aldermen/Alderwomen, and President of the Board of Aldermen.
With over 68% of St. Louis voters approving to implement the new election system in the November 2020 General Election, Prop D made three changes to our voting process:
- First, it created a nonpartisan primary, meaning that you get to vote on ALL of the candidates, not just the ones affiliated with your political party.
- Second, it implemented approval voting, meaning that you have the ability to approve--or disapprove--of every candidate on the ballot. Rather than just voting for one individual, you can choose all of the candidates that you would find to be acceptable to hold the office. Learn more about approval voting here.
- Finally, the two candidates with the most votes in the primary election advance to a meaningful run-off race in the general election.
In practice, voting will still feel very familiar to us. We'll still fill in ovals on our ballots; the main change (in the March primary) is how many ovals we'll be allowed to fill out. Instead of being told to 'Vote for ONE candidate' we'll simply be told to 'Vote for ALL the candidates you approve of.'
It's like giving a thumbs up or a thumbs down to each of the candidates instead of just one.
How does the runoff work?
Right now, people think of the April election as meaningless, since the results are never close. With STL Approves, the April general election will become a meaningful runoff between the top two vote-getters.
Candidates receiving the most votes will still win, exactly as they do today. This will encourage voters to choose all the candidates they approve of in the primary, since they can make a final decision in the runoff.
Why did St. Louis change the way it conducted municipal elections?
THE BROKEN ELECTION SYSTEM IN ST. LOUIS LED TO A GOVERNMENT THAT IS NOT RESPONSIVE TO THE NEEDS OF THE ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY.
Our democracy should be a government by the many—not the few. Recently, major elections in St. Louis were won by candidates who did not garner a majority of support in the Democratic primary--often, less than 40%.
- In just the last five years, St. Louis City has held thirteen elections where candidates won their seat with less than 50% of the vote.
- In five of those races, the candidate won with less than 40% of the vote, and in one case, a candidate won with less than 30% of the vote.
These races are often decided by razor thin margins in the primaries, and then candidates sail through the general election without significant opposition from another party. Without significant support from voters, elected officials lack a mandate to lead and accountability to make positive changes demanded by the community in areas such as education, affordable housing and policing. And, when leaders lack accountability to voters, big money & special interests have undue influence.
UNDER THE OLD SYSTEM, WHEN VOTERS GO TO THE POLLS, THEY OFTEN ENDED UP VOTING FOR SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY ISN’T THEIR FAVORITE CANDIDATE.
Voters are often put in the difficult position of voting against a candidate that they particularly don’t like or for someone who they “feel can win” based on polling, fundraising or name recognition. As a result, phenomenons like “vote splitting,” “spoiler candidates,” and “stalking horses” have emerged, eroding our faith in our government and trust among our officials.
ST. LOUIS USED WHAT IS KNOWN AS THE WORST POSSIBLE SYSTEM OF ELECTIONS IN THE WORLD.
The old system, known as plurality voting, allows a minority of voters in a low-turnout election to effectively decide the person who takes office and makes policies for all of us. Most voters had chosen someone other than the winner, feeling like their vote wasn’t important, and leading to decreased voter turnout. All of these factors have contributed to an erosion of trust and effectiveness in St. Louis government.
Want to learn more about why plurality voting should be eliminated?
https://www.fairvote.org/reasons-to-reconsider-plurality-voting
https://www.fairvote.org/tuesday_s_primaries_parade_the_pitfalls_of_plurality_elections
Tell me more about approval voting.
Often, voters are frustrated by the choices presented to them during elections. Because many recognize that voting sincerely often risks receiving a worse result in the end, they are compelled to vote for "the lesser of two evils," even though their preferences lie among other candidates. This problem leads to voter disgust, discouragement, and disenfranchisement.
Approval voting solves this problem. In practice, approval voting will be very familiar to us. We'll still fill in ovals on our ballots; the only change is how many ovals we'll be allowed to fill out. Instead of being told to 'Vote for ONE candidate' we'll simply be told to 'Vote for ALL the candidates you approve of.'
WITH APPROVAL VOTING, YOU HAVE MANY CHOICES.
Only like one candidate? Approve just that one.
Like several candidates? Approve all of them.
Only know who you don't want? Approve everyone else.
Worried your favorite doesn’t have a chance? Approve your favorite plus a compromise or two.
If you want to support one candidate, you can safely do it now without worrying about the spoiler effect hurting other candidates you like—you can vote for all of them—protecting your interests while also giving each of them a more accurate measure of support.
Voters can also still vote exactly the way they currently vote in mayoral and commission races without any change: no harm, no foul. Those who choose to take advantage of approval voting’s expressiveness can do so without forcing any other voters to do it, too.
Tell me more about the top-two runoff.
In top-two runoff, voters are given a final choice of who they prefer. This allows the voters to get a final choice between the best candidates and ensures that the final winner receives at least 50% of the vote. Elections with several candidates mean voters and community groups have to choose candidates based on a lot of different criteria: experience, positions, trust, and more. The runoff gives voters and community groups an important opportunity to hold the top two most popular candidates accountable, obtain more information and draw clear distinctions, and organize to support the one candidate who they believe will best represent their interests in City Hall.
Runoffs for municipal races are common and simple. Most cities have moved away from St. Louis’s antiquated system towards popular nonpartisan runoffs. Maplewood, Kansas City, Chicago, Nashville, Atlanta, and many others have nonpartisan elections with runoffs. Every California municipality has it.