Group files ballot initiative to overhaul state Senate, add ranked-choice voting

A nascent political group led by a teacher in rural Nevada is proposing to amend the Nevada Constitution by substantially overhauling the structure of state Senate elections, including elements of ranked voting in those elections.

According to paperwork filed with the secretary of state’s office last month, a public school teacher in Beatty named Benjamin Pennington has filed documents signaling an intent to begin collecting signatures for a proposed initiative petition that would reduce the terms for state senators from four to two years and align their districts with the boundaries of the state’s congressional districts.

The proposed initiative would redraw state Senate boundaries to fit Nevada’s number of U.S. House seats (currently four) and would allow each district five senators. But voters would cast ballots for state Senate candidates using a single transferable vote system, where voters would rank candidates in order of preference and the vote is “transferred” if a person’s first choice is eliminated.

In an interview, Pennington said he drew inspiration for the system from Australia and other governments with similar systems as a way to increase proportional representation, get rid of “needless redundancy” in the Legislature and eliminate the ability of the state Senate to create gerrymandered districts with an overwhelming voter registration advantage.

Read more: https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/group-files-ballot-initiative-to-overhaul-state-senate-add-ranked-choice-voting