An Act authorizing ranked choice voting in the town of Bedford

HD 5512 proposes implementing ranked choice voting (RCV) for all town elections in Bedford, affecting residents who vote in local elections for town offices. The bill requires voters to rank candidates in order of preference; if no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated in successive rounds until one candidate achieves a majority. Bedford residents must first approve the change via a ballot question asking "Shall an act entitled 'An Act Authorizing Ranked Choice Voting in the Town of Bedford' be accepted?" with a majority "yes" vote. If approved, the RCV system would apply to all town elections occurring 90+ days after voter approval, excluding single-seat races with two or fewer candidates or multi-seat races matching candidate numbers to seats.