Salem Seeks Authority to Let Citizens Rank Their Preferences, Rather Than Simply Submit to One

Salem Seeks Authority to Let Citizens Rank Their Preferences, Rather Than Simply Submit to One

HD.6256, filed by Commissar Manny Cruz of the 7th Essex district and co-sponsored by Senator Joan B. Lovely, would authorize the city of Salem to adopt ranked choice voting for its local elections — permitting residents to express ordered preferences among candidates rather than casting a single, terminal vote.

The decree is local in scope and requires Salem’s own approval before taking effect, meaning the People’s Legislature in Boston is not mandating the new system upon the city but merely granting it the legal authority to choose. Whether Salem’s municipal apparatus exercises that authority is a question for Salem. The collective, in this instance, gets to decide for itself.

No treasury contributions are specified in the filing. The principal beneficiaries, in theory, are Salem voters in multi-candidate races who currently watch their preferred candidate eliminated while a plurality winner claims victory on a fraction of the electorate’s support. Under ranked choice, such outcomes become considerably harder to engineer.