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Benton County would become the first in Oregon to use ranked choice voting if voters there approve a measure that appears headed for the November ballot. Ranked choice voting lets voters rank their candidates by preference. (Oregonian/Staff) Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian

(The Oregonian/Staff)

Benton County petitioners appear to have collected enough signatures for a November ballot measure that would make the county Oregon's first to adopt ranked-choice voting.

If certified, the initiative would change the way officials are chosen in general and special elections. Instead of casting one vote for a chosen candidate, voters would select candidates in order of preference.

Ranked-choice voting, also known as instant run-off voting, allows voters to rank up to three candidates by order of preference when filling out their ballots.

Any candidate receiving an outright majority of votes wins. If that doesn't happen, a process of elimination begins, with the candidate receiving the fewest number of first-choice votes being eliminated. The voter's next-ranked candidate then gets that vote, with the elimination process continuing until one candidate receives the majority needed for election.

The method is used in about two dozen cities and counties across the United States, but has yet to be adopted by any Oregon county or any entire state.

"We just think this is a better way of voting," said Blair Bobier, a long-time Corvallis attorney and the measure's co-petitioner. "It gives more power and more choice to voters, and in the city's where it's been used, it has increased overall turnout and diversity of representation."

State Rep. Dan Rayfield, D-Corvallis, is serving as the effort's co-petitioner.

Bobier's group submitted petitions Tuesday morning containing 4,585 names. At least 2,895 of those need to be verified as registered county voters for the measure to appear on the November ballot, said Jeff Doty, the county's elections supervisor.

Doty said his office now has 15 days to determine whether the petitions contain enough verified names to take the matter to voters in the general election.

Jurisdictions now using some form of ranked preference for at least some of their elections include Minneapolis, San Francisco, Oakland, Cambridge, Massachusetts and Takoma Park, Maryland.

Maine voters this November will have the chance to make their state the first in the country to adopt ranked-choice voting.

In Benton County, a yes vote in November wouldn't guarantee that ranked-choice voting starts immediately. That's because the petition says it won't take effect until the county has received up to $200,000 in funding.

The petition further states that ranked-choice voting wouldn't be put into use after at least 12 months after funding has been received.

"This method ensures that whoever wins has the support of a majority of voters," Bobier said. "We think this is an answer to the fact that so many voters clearly are dissatisfied with the process."

-- Dana Tims

503-294-7647; @DanaTims