Kansas Democrats Will Use Ranked-Choice for Primary

[DonViejo]

June 11, 2019 at 9:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

The Kansas Democratic party submitted its plan to the Democratic National Committee to ditch Kansas’ traditional caucus system in favor of a primary election with ranked-choice voting, the Wichita Eagle reports.

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https://politicalwire.com/2019/06/11/kansas-democrats-will-use-ranked-choice-for-primary/

[George II]

1. Good, another undemocratic caucus bites the dust in favor of a democratic primary.

[uawchild]

4. right on!

I am in total agreement.

Is the caucus system some strange hold over from the old New England Town Meetings or something?

[DURHAM D]

2. So, if I understand this correctly, they first changed from caucus to a primary and

then to ranked choice.

Do I have this right?

[uawchild]

3. Some highlights of the plan:

▪ The primary will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May 2, a Saturday.

▪ Voting will be by “ranked choice.” Voters will vote for their first, second, third, and so forth choices down the ballot.

▪ In the counting process, if a candidate gets less than 15 percent of the first-choice votes cast, those votes will be redistributed to the candidates who were marked as second choice. The process continues until only candidates with 15 percent or more of the votes are left. Then the delegates will be awarded proportionally, based on the candidates’ percentage of the final tally.

▪ The party will establish “voting centers” across the state where Democrats will be able to gather and cast their ballots.

▪ Every state Senate District will have at least one voting center. Low-population rural areas could have more than one if the Senate district has more than four counties.

▪ Only registered Democrats can vote. But non-Democrats can register or reregister at the voting center on the day of the primary and then cast a ballot.

▪ To encourage young voters, 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the general election in November will be allowed to vote in the primary.

▪ Photo ID will be required, to comply with state law. However, same-day registrants will be given a federal voter registration form so they won’t have to provide the documented proof of citizenship — such as a birth certificate or passport — required with state forms.

The old-style Democratic caucus involved voters going to a meeting hall, listening to speeches and then physically separating into groups to be counted for one candidate or another. It involved a lot of standing around.

https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/election/article231397443.html