City Council and County

VI - City council and county board elections by area or zone.

These two positions should not only be required to live in the area they are elected to represent but only the voters in that zone could vote for that position. This method would bring the representative closer to their constituents in cities and counties. In my part of the world, city council members are elected to a numbered position. That seat number does not have a corresponding district or zone attached to it. The city council members are voted on city wide. County Commissioners have a zone and are required to live in that zone, but are voted on county wide.

Some elections for these types of positions are at-large elections with the highest vote-netters being elected, depending on the number of open seats. As a youth my hometown city elections started with a town meeting in which parties were formed and candidates nominated from the parties. Council seats were by zone (four) with candidates from that zone. I was too young to remember for certain about other details, but it seemed to me that it was a good nonpartisan system. Times change and I don’t think New England has Town meetings anymore either.

Other sections of this document apply to this section, such as majority vote winners and other methods for vote counting. Majority vote School boards, on the other hand, are elected by zone by the voters of that zone. Fair vote gives information on this type of election around the United States. Use in the United States, of this single vote method, dates back to the nineteenth century. This limited voting ensures that each candidate will be elected by a distinct group of voters, meaning more voters overall achieve close representation. https://www.fairvote.org/jurisdictions_using_fair_rep#full_list_of_fair_voting_jurisdictions

Category: State and Local