Proposed charter amendment filed 9/8/17

* Letter of transmittal to City Attorney, 9/8/17

* Letter of transmittal of ballot title to King County Elections, 9/15/17

* Letter from City Clerk to proponent, 9/15/17

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FairVote Washington: City of Seattle Proposed Charter Amendment No __ concerns _______

Please return signed petitions to or contact us at:

FairVote Washington

12345 Lake City Way, N.E. #413, Seattle, WA 98125

tel.: (206) 552-3287

e-mail: info@fairvotewa.org

CHARTER AMENDMENT PETITION FOR SUBMISSION TO THE SEATTLE CITY COUNCIL

To the City Council of The City of Seattle: We, the undersigned registered voters of The City of Seattle, State of Washington, propose and ask for the amendment to the Seattle City Charter known as Charter Amendment Measure No. ______, entitled:

THE CITY OF SEATTLE PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NUMBER ____

[ballot title to be supplied by Seattle City Attorney]

Should this measure be enacted into law?

Yes ?

No ?

a full, true and correct copy of which is included herein, and we petition the Council to present said proposed Charter Amendment to the qualified electors of The City of Seattle for approval or rejection at the next general municipal election occurring in accordance with Article XX, Section 2 of the City Charter; and each of us for himself or herself says: I have personally signed this petition; I am a registered voter of The City of Seattle, State of Washington, and my residence address is correctly stated.

WARNING: Every person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seeking an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. In addition, it is unlawful for any person: 1. To sign or decline to sign any petition for a City initiative, referendum, or Charter amendment, in exchange for any consideration or gratuity or promise thereof; or 2. To give or offer any consideration or gratuity to anyone to induce him or her to sign or not to sign a petition for a City initiative, referendum, or Charter amendment; or 3. To interfere with or attempt to interfere with the right of any voter to sign or not to sign a petition for a City initiative, referendum, or Charter amendment by threat, intimidation or any other corrupt means or practice; or 4. To sign any City of Seattle initiative, referendum, or Charter amendment knowing that he or she is not a registered voter of The City of Seattle. Any violation of paragraphs 1, 2, 3, or 4 shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500 or by imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (Seattle Ordinance 94289, SMC 2.08.040, RCW 35.21.005).

(*Only Registered Seattle Voters Can Sign This Petition*)

Petitioner's Signature Printed Name Residence Address

(Street/Zip) Date

Signed

Sample Joan Q. Public Joan Q. Public 2017 Seattle Blvd, 98100 July 5, 2017

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Charter Amendment: The People of the City of Seattle, exercising their power to amend the City Charter by popular vote under Article XX, Section 2 of the City Charter enact the following amendments to the Charter of the City of Seattle. In sections amending the current charter removals are in strikeout, additions are underlined; Charter Amendment section headers are in Bold Italics.

Section 1. Findings and Purpose

In order to improve democratic governance in and for the City of Seattle, the people determine that elections for all City elective officers shall be by ranked choice voting to the maximum extent allowed by law. For many election cycles Seattle municipal elections have consistently had numerous candidates (three or more) for most elective officer positions (Mayor, Council, City Attorney). The current municipal electoral system required by state law consists of a primary with two candidates selected on the first Tuesday in August, and final selection of the winner in municipal general elections in November. The current system promotes hyper-polarized and negative campaigns and often results in elected officials who are not fairly representative of the electorate. An electoral system of ranked choice votingalso known as "instant runoff election"promotes issue focused campaigns and engenders greater electorate participation.

Section 2. A new Section 5 is added to the City Charter, Article XVIII, as follows:

ARTICLE XVIII, ELECTIONS.

Sec. 5. RANKED CHOICE VOTING ADOPTED FOR ELECTION OF CITY OFFICERS

So long as the City of Seattle is required to have a primary election for all elective officers (Article XIX, Section 1), primaries shall be conducted by ranked choice voting. Beginning in the first municipal election cycle commencing after state law permits the City of Seattle to eliminate use of primary elections, then the city will not conduct any primary election for its elective officers, but will instead elect them in a single general municipal election conducted by ranked choice voting. Until Seattle is permitted by law to elect its elective officers by ranked choice voting in a general election without a primary, the ranked choice voting method adopted as described in Article XVIII, Section 5, Subdivision C will be used in primary elections for elective officers, except that the vote counting will end with the selection of the top two preferred candidates who will be placed on the general election ballot in that election cycle.

Section 3: A new Subdivision A is added to the City Charter, Article XVIII, Section 5, as follows:

ARTICLE XVIII, ELECTIONS.

SEC. 5. Subdivision A. RANKED CHOICE VOTING DEFINED

"Ranked choice voting" means the method of casting and tabulating votes in a primary or general election in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. Vote tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds. In each round last-place candidates are defeated and removed from further consideration. Votes by voters for removed candidates are reassigned in each succeeding round by order of preference as indicated on their ballots. In the case of a primary the tabulation concludes when two candidates with the most votes have been determined. If primaries have been eliminated, the tabulation proceeds until one candidate with the most votes has been determined.

Section 4: A new Subdivision B is added to the City Charter, Article XVIII, Section 5, as follows:

ARTICLE XVIII, ELECTIONS.

SEC. 5. Subdivision B. RANKED CHOICE VOTING FORM OF BALLOT

In any contest conducted by ranked choice voting, the ballot shall allow voters to rank candidates in order of choice. Additionally, it shall meet the following specifications:

(1) The ballot shall be simple and easy to understand.

(2) If feasible, the ballot shall allow voters to rank every listed candidate in a contest, excluding the write-in option. If it is not feasible to allow voters to rank all candidates, the number of allowable rankings may be limited to no fewer than six (6) candidates.

(3) If there are fewer than three (3) candidates listed in a contest, including the write-in option, the contest may be presented and tabulated as a non-ranked choice contest.

Section 5: A new Subdivision C is added to the City Charter, Article XVIII, Section 5, as follows:

ARTICLE XVIII, ELECTIONS.

SEC. 5. Subdivision C. RANKED CHOICE VOTING SELF EXECUTING; COOPERATION WITH KING COUNTY ELECTIONS DEPARTMENT

This Charter Amendment is self-executing. Pursuant to state law most responsibility for implementation is held by King County, administered through the county's Department of Elections. The City of Seattle shall cooperate with the King County Department of Elections to implement ranked choice voting, including development of the form of ballots and the methodology for tabulation of votes. Cooperation may result in memoranda of understanding, jointly adopted rules, or separately adopted ordinances or rules. The City Council shall include in the City's budget sufficient funds to ensure timely implementation of ranked choice voting.

Section 6. Savings Clause; Liberal Construction

The provisions of this Charter Amendment are to be liberally construed to achieve its purposes. The terms and provisions of this Amendment are severable; if any are found invalid this shall not affect the validity of the remainder.

Sponsor Information: FairVote Washington

12345 Lake City Way, N.E. #413, Seattle, WA 98125

tel.: (206) 552-3287

e-mail: info@fairvotewa.org

[Insert deadline for return of petitions, a few days shy of 6 months after beginning of signature gathering.]