Lakewood council hears experts and residents on charter amendment to enable ranked‑choice voting

Justin Mills, former executive director of Rank the Vote Ohio, told the Committee of the Whole that ranked‑choice voting (RCV) asks voters to rank candidates instead of choosing a single candidate, and that winners must secure a majority rather than a plurality. Mills said, “the idea of ranked choice voting, is instead of just choosing the 1, you rank your choices.”

The Committee of the Whole and members of city council discussed a June recommendation from the Charter Review Commission that would place a charter amendment before Lakewood voters allowing council to adopt ranked‑choice voting for municipal elections. Council members pressed technical, legal and operational questions — including tally transparency, software, local election administration and whether a state House bill would block local action.

Why it matters: the change would alter how municipal winners are determined (majority rather than plurality), could remove or change the need for some primaries and would go to voters as a charter amendment.…