Phoenix runoffs see turnout plummet
Last night, Phoenix held runoff elections for two city council seats. Phoenix holds runoffs when no candidate wins a majority of votes. In the November election, this happened in Council Districts 6 and 8.
Both contests were competitive. Eight candidates vied for the open seat in District 6 in November. The top two finishers – Kevin Robinson and Sam Stone – advanced with just 19.6% (about 12,000 votes) and 17.1% (about 11,000 votes) respectively. This means the majority of voters did not see their favorite candidate on the runoff ballot. Robinson came out victorious in the runoff, with about 62% of votes. The latest figures put turnout at about 34,000 voters. That’s nearly a 50% dropoff from the first round in November, where over 60,000 people voted.
Dropoff is even more dramatic in Phoenix’s District 8 – less than half of the 35,000 people who voted in the November race returned to the polls! Incumbent Councilor Carlos Garcia faced three challengers. In November, Garcia edged out second-place finisher Kesha Hodge Washington by about 500 votes. The two finished with 39.5% (13,838 votes) and 38% (13,328) votes respectively.
According to the latest numbers, Hodge Washington is leading in the runoff with about 8,000 votes, to Garcia’s nearly 6,500. This is far fewer votes than Washington received in the initial election – a far cry from the majority rule that runoff elections are supposed to produce.
Yesterday’s runoff comes five months after Election Day in November. The dramatic drop in turnout is consistent with what we know about runoff elections; the longer the wait between the initial race and the runoff, the larger the dropoff in turnout tends to be.
Competitive elections are the cornerstone of democracy. When legislators have to fight for their seats, they are held accountable for delivering on their promises. These key seats should not be decided by a smaller, potentially unrepresentative group of voters.
Ranked choice voting (RCV) provides a better way forward for Phoenix. Voters can rank the candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, an instant runoff is triggered. If your favorite candidate performed poorly, your vote would count for a backup choice.
RCV allows for a quick, consensus decision at the election where turnout is naturally the highest. The city wouldn’t have to spend money on holding another election. Phoenix would be following the lead of several jurisdictions in neighboring states, including eight in California, two in New Mexico, and over 20 in Utah. Best of all, RCV gives more voters more voice, particularly in competitive elections like Phoenix’s 6th and 8th Council Districts.
