Measure No: 20-364

Caption:

Allow voters to show preferences between candidates for city elections

Question:

Shall Oakridge allow voters to show preferences between candidates for city elections?

Summary:

The Oakridge City Council and Charter Review Subcommittee referred this measure to implement STAR (Score Then Automatic Runoff) Voting for Oakridge municipal elections for 3 election cycles, at no cost to city.

Currently, candidates for city council and mayor do not need a majority to win. If adopted, STAR Voting would allow voters to show preferences by scoring all candidates from 5-stars (best) to 0-stars (worst). Candidates left blank receive 0.

Ballots are then counted in two rounds:
1) Scoring Round: Ballots are tallied and the two top scoring candidates advance as finalists.
2) Automatic Runoff Round: One person, one vote. Each voter's full vote automatically goes to the finalist they preferred (scored higher). The finalist with the most votes wins.

For transparency, full election results and anonymous ballot data will be released for independent review. This pilot project would last three election cycles (2026, 2028, 2030). Then voters would vote on a Charter amendment to decide fi Oakridge should use STAR Voting permanently.