Ann Arbor voters approved ranked choice voting by a large margin. Ranked choice allows people to vote for multiple candidates by order of preference.
Ann Arbor Mayor Chris Taylor says it's symbolic at this point. He says the state Legislature would still have to make ranked choice voting legal in Michigan.
"We hope that other municipalities will follow our lead if they choose to do so and that the Legislature will take notice and enable us and other jurisdictions to control our own elections," he said.
Taylor says ranked choice voting may encourage more people to run for office.
And he says voters don't have to vote strategically, such as voting for someone they think will win instead of someone they prefer.
Voters in Ann Arbor also approved three other proposals: Proposal A, which allows the city to award contracts to the bidder deemed best value to the City rather than lowest responsible bidder; Proposal C, which requires the City Council to establish, by ordinance, the procedure by which the City Administrator may make emergency purchases, and Proposal D, which gives the City Administrator authority to approve purchases and contracts when the cost is $75,000 or less.
