Importance of Spot / “Bullet” Voting
The Town Council race is unusual in that it is a multi-seat at-large election decided by a plurality vote rather than the single winner races that most of us are accustomed to. You CAN vote for up to six of the eight candidates but I strongly suggest you only vote for the candidate or candidates you really want to see win. Let me explain …
Every vote you cast is not only a vote FOR that candidate but effectively a vote AGAINST every other candidate. If you cast a vote for a candidate you only feel “so so” about you may push them above the candidate(s) you actually care about.
For example lets assume there are 4 candidates for 2 seats — Joe, Jane, Jack, and Fred. You really want Joe to win but you can vote for 2 candidates so you vote for Fred as well. Here are the results:
- Jane — 250 votes
- Fred — 249 votes
- Joe — 248 votes
- Jack — 200 votes
So Fred wins one of the seats but Joe misses out by 1 vote. Now if you only vote for Joe the results are different:
- Jane — 250 votes
- Fred — 248 votes
- Joe — 248 votes
- Jack — 200 votes
So now you have a tie — so at least your preferred candidate still has a shot.
This is why Spot / “Bullet” voting is so critical in this type of race and you should only vote for the candidate or candidates (I suggest no more than 1 or 2) that you REALLY want on the Council. Obviously I hope that Stevan Porter will be one of your votes!