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Hudson councilor describes ranked-choice voting experience; local commission weighs effects, SB 63
Summary
A guest from nearby Hudson described that city’s conversation about ranked-choice voting and told Stow City’s Charter Review Commission that the system can increase candidate competition and voter participation; commissioners discussed voter education, legal risks from state bill SB 63 and whether to pursue the change this cycle.
Skyler Sutton, a Hudson City Council member, told the Stow City Charter Review Commission on May 1 that Hudson is reviewing a charter amendment that could add ranked-choice voting and that his experience leads him to support the method.
Sutton said ranked-choice voting “leads to more candidates, and I think more satisfying results,” and argued it can reduce the sense of disenfranchisement when the plurality winner is chosen from a crowded field. He described a Ward 1 race in Hudson where the winner received 38% of the vote and noted, “that actually means that 61% of the people did not vote for the person who held that seat for 4 years.”
The commission’s members pressed Sutton on three recurring concerns: whether voters would understand a new ballot format, how Hudson’s charter-review process will handle the change, and the potential effect of pending Ohio legislation, SB 63. Sutton said most voters are receptive once the system is explained and described Hudson’s charter review as working “paragraph by paragraph” through election provisions.
On SB 63, Sutton summarized testimony and his view of the bill: it would permit the state to withhold funding if a municipality adopts ranked-choice voting. He said proponents of the bill argue it is not a ban but a funding shift, and he added his own view that “there’s a pretty strong case to make to the Ohio Supreme Court that it probably would not hold as constitutional,” because charter cities have self-governing powers.
Commissioners discussed next steps. Members favored a separate meeting focused on ranked-choice voting with an outside expert or advocate to explain ballot mechanics and civic impacts and agreed to hold a public town hall before bringing a formal recommendation to Stow City Council. Commissioners also noted the need to track SB 63 while deciding whether to ask the council to place ranked-choice voting on the ballot in the current cycle.
The commission did not vote to send ranked-choice voting to council on May 1; members agreed instead to schedule education sessions and to gather community feedback before deciding whether to prepare an ordinance or charter amendment for the council.
