Q: Why change how we vote?

  • The traditional voting method used in most of the country works fine if there are only two candidates but it's notoriously inaccurate when there are multiple candidates on the ballot. That's why we need a primary and a general election to narrow it down, and even still, elections can often end up with less than ideal winners who were actually opposed by the majority. 
  • This problem gets even worse in multi-winner elections that have more candidates running against each other like in Oakridge city council elections. 
  • In small cities like Oakridge where local offices are volunteer positions, making candidates run two separate elections just isn't practical, but a single election isn't accurate enough to get consistently representative outcomes unless voters can show their preferences. 
  • In contrast, STAR Voting is highly accurate with any number of candidates in the race because it allows voters to better express their opinions. 

 

Q: What is STAR Voting?

  • With STAR Voting, voters show their preferences on the candidates by scoring them from 5 stars (best) to 0 stars (worst). 
  • Voters just vote once in November. Ballots are counted in a two step process; a scoring round, and then an automatic runoff.
  • The two highest scoring candidates are finalists. Your full vote automatically goes to the finalist you prefer. The finalist with the most votes wins. 
  • Watch the "How Does STAR Voting Work" video. 

 

Q: How would this work for Oakridge? 

  • This November, Oakridge voters will have the chance to vote on a pilot project to implement STAR Voting for Oakridge mayor and city council elections. 
  • If Measure 20-364 is adopted, voters will use STAR Voting for three election cycles before voting whether to adopt STAR Voting on a permanent basis. 
  • Oakridge would use single-winner STAR Voting for mayoral elections and multi-winner STAR Voting for city council elections. 

 

Q: How do Oakridge City Council elections work currently? What would change?  

  • Oakridge has six city councilors total. City Council terms are four years long. Three council seats come up for reelection each election cycle (every two years). These seats are filled via a multi-winner election and the top three vote-getters win. 
  • If a city council seat becomes vacant and an election to fill the seat is needed, the election for the vacant seat(s) is conducted separately from the regular city council seats. 
  • With Measure 20-364, the only change would be that the voting method would change from the current "vote for three" Plurality system to the STAR Voting method where voters would be able to show their preferences by scoring the candidates from 5 stars (best) to 0 stars (worst). 

 

 Q: What will it cost to implement STAR Voting?

  • Nothing. The measure guarantees there will be no cost to the city. 
  • The measure goes into effect once funding for voter education and implementation is secured from the state and/or nonprofit sources. 

 

 Q: Is there a limit to how many stars you can give? 

  • No. Each candidate is scored independently and you can score each candidate as desired. This ensures that you can freely show your honest preferences and level of support for as many (or as few) candidates as you like. 

 

 Q:  Do you have to score every candidate? 

  • No. Voters can simply vote for their favorite as they would now, or show support for additional candidates if desired. 
  • Think of a 0 or a blank as a "No" vote. 

 

Q: Does scoring fewer candidates or giving lower scores mean that my vote is less powerful than someone else's?

  • No. Voters who have more candidates they like on the ballot will naturally give more high scores and voters who have less candidates will naturally give more low score. No matter what scores you give, if you have a preference between the finalists, your full vote will go to the finalist you prefer. STAR Voting is still one person, one vote. 
  • Watch the "What is an equal vote" video.

 

Q:  Can you score candidates equally? 

  • Yes. If you like candidates equally, give them the same score. If you have a preference, show it. 
  • If two candidates who you liked equally both advance to the runoff your vote will be counted as an equal preference between those two. In other words, it won't tip the scales either way but it was counted and it did make a difference setting those candidates apart from those who you scored differently.

 

Q:  How does multi-winner STAR Voting work? 

  • Multi-winner STAR works just like single winner STAR Voting. The process just repeats until all seats have been filled.
  • The scoring round is conducted as normal and the two highest scoring advance to an automatic runoff as normal. The candidate with the most votes wins the first seat. An additional automatic runoff is conducted for each additional seats until all seats have been filled.

 

Q:  Has STAR Voting been tried before? 

  • Yes, STAR Voting was invented in 2014 and has been used by various political parties in primaries and other elections.
  • Voting methods are STAR Voting has topped the charts in every study and is under consideration for adoption in jurisdictions around the nation.

 

 Q: Is this the same as Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)?

  • No. STAR Voting was invented to better deliver on the goals behind RCV while addressing well-documented issues with the 150-year-old system.
  • RCV can ignore relevant ballot data and waste people's votes. In STAR Voting every vote is always counted. STAR Voting is more secure, transparent, and user friendly and it gets more representative results.  
  • Learn more about how STAR Voting