It’s time for Raleigh to consider ranked-choice voting
Raleigh elections
Democracy was the big loser in the recent Raleigh municipal elections. Six of the eight winning candidates failed to capture a majority of the votes cast in their respective mayoral and city council races.
Owing to “reforms” enacted since the last election, second-place finishers no longer have the option of calling for a runoff if the leading candidate fails to attain a majority. So Raleigh citizens are stuck with what amounts to a minority government.
The remedy is not to reinstate costly runoffs that attract few voters. A better option would be a ranked-choice system in which the voter ranks the candidates. If their first-choice is eliminated in the initial tally, their vote passes to their second choice. Thus, in the six Raleigh races lacking a candidate with majority support, voters’ next choices would determine the majority winners.
Ranked-choice voting, also called instant-runoff voting, is not a foreign concept. It’s used in New York City and dozens of other jurisdictions. Maine uses such a system in federal elections and Alaska recently used it for state and federal races.
It’s time for Raleigh to give the idea a try.
Ven Carver, Raleigh
Women, poverty
The writer is executive director of the American Cancer Society of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
Thank you for bringing the cycle of poverty to the forefront in “Woman and Children First?” This series clearly defined the socioeconomic impact. I wish it had mentioned health risks.
The American Cancer Society says, “Cancer disparities occur when barriers to high-quality cancer prevention, early detection, and treatment create differences in cancer occurrence and outcomes based on sociodemographic factors such as race, ethnicity, age, income, sexual orientation, gender identity, or the place where a person lives.”
Zip codes are more important than genetic codes.
Richard Averitte, Raleigh
Clean NC air
The writer is state coordinator for Moms Clean Air Force.
As a new mom, I am worried about the future of North Carolina because of climate change.
I worry about the health and wellness of my son. I’m afraid he won’t have a sustainable future or the ability to grow his own family due to pollution and the increased costs it will bring. I am afraid to see what will happen to our planet and how our children will have to adapt to survive without us.
It is vital that the N.C. Utilities Commission deny Duke Energy’s carbon plan and request for a new proposal that includes more clean energy sources, such as solar and offshore wind energy.
If we do not start to make headway on reducing air pollution, we risk an increased incidence of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases among our elderly, youth and groups vulnerable to air pollution, heat waves and wildfire smoke.
Ignoring the grip climate change has on us is negligent. The N.C. Utilities Commission must consider the health and wellness of N.C. citizens, especially children. We need to start putting our children first. There is no time to waste when it comes to clean air.
Chelsea Lyons, Trinity
A good day in NC?
The morning after the election, N.C. Sen. Phil Berger said, “Today’s a good day in North Carolina to be a Republican.” How sad, I thought. How sad that our government is so partisan, so “us vs. them,” so much about staying in power versus truly representing the people that Berger can’t simply say, “Today’s a good day to be a North Carolinian.”
John Flanagan, Cary
Today’s lawmakers
I find it very disturbing that our members of Congress have forgotten why they were elected. They give these great speeches about a “parents bill of rights,” increasing domestic oil and natural gas production, border security and rising crime rates. But they make no mention of gun control.
I fear for our kids going to school — kindergarten through college. Getting shot at school, at a mall. People shooting into cars. This is not the world I grew up in and I do not think our kids should have to live like this.
So when will our lawmakers start standing up for the rights of the people instead of saying “we’re going to investigate the current administration?” That does not solve the problem.
Please know that the American people need more than threats. We need people to run this country with common sense, intelligence and a caring heart.
Dolores Banks, Cary
My homeland
I read the Bloomberg editorial in the N&O, “Netanyahu needs to govern for all Israelis,” (Nov. 17) soon after returning from my birth place in the occupied Palestinian West Bank.
Israel controls all territories between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. About 7 million Israeli Jews and 7 million Muslim and Christian Palestinians live there. Israel imposes an unequal system of laws and rules, one for Palestinians and one for Israeli Jews.
Israeli military rules devastate all aspects of Palestinians life. The West Bank and Gaza were designated for a Palestinian state as agreed in the 1993 Oslo agreement.
Israel today is neither Jewish, nor democratic. The solution is to dismantle this apartheid system and make Israel a state for all its citizens.
Burhan Ghanayem, Durham
