Ranked-choice voting is getting support from residents in East Lansing. Voters narrowly approved a ballot question seeking to revise the city’s electoral process when selecting new members of the City Council.
With the Ingham County Clerk reporting 100% of the unofficial results from city precincts, 52.5% of East Lansing’s ballots were cast in favor of ranked-choice.
Voters in Royal Oak and Kalamazoo approved similar measures Tuesday amid a broader campaign to bring ranked-choice voting to Michigan. State election law currently bars ranked-choice voting in any jurisdiction regardless of the election results.
Voters also rejected a ballot proposal to change the East Lansing City Council's swearing-in date. The effort to move the ceremony from November to January was voted down with 60.6% of ballots against the change.
City officials pushed for the charter amendment to comply with new statewide voting requirements that extends the time for vote certification to accommodate military and overseas ballots.
Critics argued the new date would institute a “lame-duck period” by giving outgoing public officials added time in their council seats.