An Act providing a local option for ranked choice voting in municipal elections

This bill allows Massachusetts cities and towns to choose whether to use ranked choice voting for their local elections. Under the new rules, voters would rank candidates in order of preference instead of selecting just one, and votes would be counted in rounds where ballots for eliminated candidates are transferred to the voter's next choice. Municipalities that wish to adopt this system must pass a local ordinance detailing specific rules for counting votes and resolving ties, while the state law removes the requirement to mark ballots with a cross. The legislation also ensures that a voter's lower-ranked choices do not affect the election outcome of their higher-ranked candidates.