Massachusetts

After Chaotic House Race, Some Call For New Voting System

The crowded and chaotic Democratic congressional primary that is now being recounted has fueled calls from election reform advocates for Massachusetts to adopt a system allowing voters to rank candidates on the ballot rather than select just a single one.

Ten candidates were vying for their party's nomination to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas. The top two vote-getters in the Sept. 4 primary, Lori Trahan and Dan Koh, wound up separated by only a few dozen votes after the initial count.

In a ranked-choice voting system, voters can rank candidates numerically, from their No. 1 choice down to their least favorite.

Maine became the first U.S. state to use ranked-choice voting in a primary election in June.

Legislation to allow ranked-choice voting was filed on Beacon Hill last year. It didn't advance.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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