Two D.C. LGBTQ rights advocates stepping down from jobs

It is ironic that cities, the seat of the federal government, have little say in how the federal government is run.

From license plates displaying the phrase “No Taxation, No Representation,” to the countless “51st State” stickers seen everywhere, Washington residents know that their votes are more important than other Americans. I know very well that it is not important.

Nevertheless, a group in Washington is seeking to expand voting rights for residents through Initiative 83. The group Yes on 83 is the driving force behind this policy. They put up signs around town, handed out flyers, and talked to people about what their initiative would change.

“Initiative 83 is a two-part ballot initiative,” said Porter Bowman, volunteer communications director for Yes on 83. One is to introduce ranked-choice voting in Washington, D.C.’s primaries and general elections, allowing independents to vote in the primaries of their choice. ”

On Tuesday, after the polls closed, the Yes on 83 team gathered at Clash Dance Bar on 14th Street for an election watch party. There, a group of purple-clad volunteers gathered on the dance floor to celebrate their work and watch the election results trickle in.

One of those volunteers is Ruby Coleman, student engagement coordinator for the Yes On 83 campaign and an American University student who was passionate about the measure. She described this as a victory for Washington voters, regardless of how they vote on this bill.

“This is going to hold our politicians accountable,” Coleman said as volunteers danced in the background. “Ranked-choice voting makes it easier to vote out politicians who are of no use to us. Politicians require a 50% threshold, so it is much easier for us to vote them out as well.” It will be.”

In ranked choice voting, 51% is the golden number. The way ranked choice voting works is that voters rank their candidates in order of preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd). After that, only the voter’s first choice is counted. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, that candidate wins the race.

If no candidate reaches the 51% threshold, the person with the fewest votes will be eliminated and everyone who voted for the eliminated candidate will have their second choice vote counted. This process of eliminating the candidates with the lowest support continues until one of the candidates receives more than 50% of the vote.

This would theoretically encourage voters to research the policies and ideas of all potential candidates, as well as eliminate “spoiler” votes where similar candidates split their votes and neither wins. This provides a more balanced vote.

In addition to ranked-choice voting, Initiative 83 also allows independents, or those not registered with any political party, to vote in Washington’s primary elections. Washington previously allowed only registered partisan voters to participate in primary voting.

There are many reasons why residents may not be able to register with a major political party. Some feel the party platform does not reflect their views, while others, such as journalists and federal officials, do not register to avoid being seen as partisan.

At around 10:15pm on Tuesday, the Yes On 83 group celebrated a premature victory. At this point, about 55% of Washingtonians’ votes had been counted. The “yes” vote for Initiative 83 had a strong lead at 72% support, while the “no” vote remained at less than 30%.

Lisa DT Rice, the initiative’s proponent, spoke to the volunteers on the dance floor with a big smile on stage at Clash.

“After a fulfilling, tiring but important day, I’m especially proud and when I look out at all the faces I see what a great team we have here,” Rice said. He began giving a speech that lasted approximately 8 minutes. “As a tenacious Washington woman, I proposed Initiative 83 here in my hometown to put voters first. I love this city and I believe politicians need to do more to win votes. I think we need a political system that does not.”

Supporters of Initiative 83 say the ranked choice system allows more voices to be heard, including those from the LGBTQ community.

“With ranked-choice voting, you have the opportunity to vote based on your values, not necessarily strategically,” Coleman told the Blade. “That means you can vote for the person you want to win rather than the person you think will win.”

“A very simple example of this is if you’re considering a presidential election and you want to vote for a third party, but you think the Democratic candidate might win, but you vote third party first and the Democratic It means you can put a candidate in second place,” Coleman said. continued. “You’re not losing a vote. You’re not wasting a vote. And it’s the same minority candidates, including LGBTQ candidates. Research shows that people are more likely to vote for women, for minority candidates, for candidates of color. We know that ranked-choice voting elects women, minority candidates, and candidates of color at higher rates because they are not afraid to vote in favor of others.”

Opponents of ranked-choice voting say the process is too complex, leads to voter confusion, a lengthy tabulation process, and may not reflect true majority preferences.

Despite this opposition, Washington approved the initiative. 186,277 (about 72%) voters in Washington State said yes to the initiative, while 70,45 (27%) said no.

“Ranked-choice voting is a proven system that holds politicians accountable to a majority of voters, and letting independents like me vote in taxpayer-funded primaries is exactly the right thing to do. ” Rice continued in his victory speech. . “We are building a strong coalition of voters across districts, across districts, backgrounds, races, classes and political ideologies who recognize that it is time to get politicians to do more for us. Thank you to everyone who believed in us and joined us on this journey.”