Bill > SB6156

This bill aims to increase representation and voter participation in local elections by providing a framework for counties, cities, towns, school districts, fire districts, and port districts to adopt ranked choice voting. The key provisions of the bill include: 1. Allowing these local jurisdictions to use ranked choice voting for their elections, with specific requirements for how the voting system must be designed and implemented, including allowing voters to rank at least five candidates and using either the instant runoff voting method for single-winner contests or the single transferable vote method for multiwinner contests. 2. Requiring the secretary of state to adopt rules and provide guidance and educational materials to support local jurisdictions in implementing ranked choice voting. 3. Creating a work group to advise the secretary of state on the development of rules and implementation materials, as well as voter education standards and support materials. 4. Modifying existing laws related to primaries, ballot layout, and the resolution of tie votes to accommodate the use of ranked choice voting. 5. Specifying that the costs of implementing ranked choice voting must be borne by the jurisdictions using it, rather than the county more broadly. The overall goal of the bill is to provide a consistent statewide framework for local jurisdictions to adopt ranked choice voting, with the aim of increasing representation and voter participation in these elections.