Fargo has an election method that helps mainstream candidates. North Dakota lawmakers may ban it
BISMARCK, N.D. — (AP) — When Fargo voters approved a unique local election system in 2018, their goal was to choose candidates with broader support to lead North Dakota’s largest city.
It worked — maybe too well.
Now the state Legislature is moving to ban the system, with the lawmaker pushing for the restriction saying it elects “vanilla” candidates rather than the “principled” leaders he thinks Fargo residents deserve.
“When you have middle-of-the-road candidates that don’t take hard stances, they tend to be more tolerable to more people, and I believe this voting method is attempting to hire those people for the job,” said Republican Rep. Ben Koppelman, who sponsored the bill banning the system. “It doesn’t want any heavily principled people that might be polarizing to some.”
https://www.boston25news.com/news/national/fargo-has-an/HAZCKFIWRVBNNNQR7GFC4FFTYA/