Just 16.7 percent of registered voters in Duluth showed up Tuesday to cast votes in the city's primary election.

In a town that often prides itself on civic engagement, the weak turnout has attracted notice and prompted some calls for reform.

Ranked-choice voting supporters say Tuesday's turnout indicates that changes are needed in Duluth. Voters will decide on the November ballot whether to move to the system in which they rank their top three choices among the candidates in a single election, eliminating the need for a primary.

"I think that it speaks volumes about the benefit ranked-choice voting could bring to Duluth," said Katie Humphrey, campaign manager for the Duluth Better Ballot Campaign.

However, Councilor Joel Sipress, who opposes ranked-choice voting, said Tuesday was an anomaly in primary election turnout because competitive municipal races drive voters to the polls - and that was lacking this year.

"The low voter turnout (Tuesday) is not necessarily a reflection of a problem with our primary election system," Sipress said. "They're grasping for reasons to eliminate a system that has worked well for Duluth."

Past city primary elections involving mayoral races have drawn more people to the polls in Duluth. In 2003 and 2007 - Duluth's last two competitive mayoral primaries - voters turned out at rates of 43 and 37 percent, respectively.

Participation was predictably far weaker in 2011, when Don Ness became the first mayor in the city's history to run for re-election with no opponent. As a result, the mayoral race didn't even appear on the primary ballot that September, and just over 12 percent of registered voters in Duluth showed up to vote.

Former Duluth city councilor and 2003 mayoral candidate Jim Stauber contrasted this year's race with years past that featured more established public figures.

"I was in the '03 race, and we had seven candidates in the primary, and six were well-known names," he said.

Stauber said City Council President Emily Larson faced no comparable opponents in the latest primary.

"I saw a lot of strong DFL candidates drop out early. I certainly thought Roger Reinert might be in there. I thought Yvonne Prettner Solon might be in there. I thought that even Sharla Gardner might consider a run. But all of them, one at a time, backed out, leaving Emily just really the only DFL candidate, and so the DFL wasn't showing up in droves to ensure their candidate moved through with the DFL endorsement. It was just Emily," Stauber said.

The other candidates who did enter the mayoral race had trouble competing, Stauber said. Larson captured more than two-thirds of the vote, and will now face off in the coming election against Chuck Horton, who received less than 19 percent support.

"The rest of the candidates did not have as well-known names as in previous races, and I think a lot of people considered it just a foregone conclusion that Councilor Larson was going to take it. So why even go?" Stauber said.

Greg Gilbert, another former longtime Duluth city councilor, agreed that this year's primary was far different from the two mayoral bids he experienced as a candidate in 2003 and 2007.

"I don't think people saw this primary, especially for mayor, as a competitive race, to be honest. Whereas, with the ones that I participated in, we had a large primary field and it was more wide open," he said.

Gilbert said people need a reason to turn out at the polls.

"I think people turn out when they feel there is a need and there is an interest and there's a contest and it's competitive. But if they don't see that need, I think they stay home. I think that's what you saw this time," he said.

Gilbert said the recent mayoral primary was notable for the absence of prominent conservative candidates.

Stauber, a self-described conservative, said recruiting people into the race proved a challenge.

"I shook the bushes for several months and talked to a lot of folks, trying to generate some interest in running, but obviously I wasn't very successful," he said.

Gilbert suggested that Duluth city government is becoming more of a Democratic Party stronghold, giving conservative candidates pause.

"I think the reason is the DFL as a party is becoming so dominant in Duluth. They are organized. They are well-prepared. They have good hard workers. They have access to money," he said. "I think other people kind of look in and say: 'We don't have a chance.'"

While relatively few big-name conservatives entered the ongoing mayor's race, Stauber said he still believes Horton has a chance against Larson.

"I think of all the other candidates, Chuck Horton is going to be pretty feisty. And if he is true to his character, he will make it a competitive race. And once people think there's a possibility that there's still competition here and that Chuck might actually be elected, I think a lot of people will show up," he said.

Stauber said it may be wrong to read too much into Tuesday's primary results and the low voter participation.

"I don't think Councilor Larson is necessarily a shoo-in, because the low number of people who showed up at the primary are probably core members of the DFL who voted for her. But the rest of Duluthians will probably keep an open mind and they will want to hear what Chuck and Emily have to say. So I'm hoping we have a good turnout," he said.

Ranked-choice voting

Ranked-choice voting enables people to support multiple candidates in order of preference. Voters are asked to pick their first-, second- and third-choice candidates. The first-choice votes are then tallied, with the lowest-placing candidates eliminated one by one - and the secondary votes of the losing candidates' supporters are applied to the remaining field until a winner emerges.

Robert Wahman, chairman of the Duluth Better Ballot Campaign, suggested Wednesday that voters who headed to the polls Tuesday aren't representative of the general population because many residents don't think it's important to vote, particularly in a primary - and that's a reason why ranked-choice voting is needed.

Ranked-choice voting would do away with primary elections, which Humphrey said is "more democratic" because candidates would be elected out of a single field in elections with greater voter turnout.

Sipress said he's concerned that ranked-choice voting will put an emphasis on name recognition because candidates need voters to rank their favorites, causing a decline in the need for candidates to connect with voters on the issues.

"Ranked-choice voting would completely change how candidates would go about campaigning," he said. "The best way to ensure victory in ranked-choice voting is to make sure lots and lots of people know your name."

Humphrey, however, said that ranked-choice voting can lessen the impact of negative campaigning and causes candidates to focus on the issues. Candidates in ranked-choice elections may need voters to pick them as a second or third choice - and negative campaigning can hurt their chances of that.