§ 7-1 GENERAL PROVISIONS AND DEFINITIONS

Enacted pursuant to Section 5.01 of the Albany City Charter (the "City Charter"), this chapter provides the manner by which members ("members") of the Albany City Council shall be elected. Specifically, Ranked Choice Voting shall be used for electing members, at large, during each general municipal election, beginning with the November 8, 2022, general municipal election. Ranked Choice Voting shall also be used for electing members, at large, during any special election called after November 8, 2022.

This chapter establishes procedures to be used in Ranked Choice Voting elections, and shall be liberally construed to give effect to its purposes. This chapter may not be amended or repealed, unless:

• a. A majority of voters vote to do so at a general municipal election, provided that the ballot measure was placed on the ballot by way of:

  1. Initiative petition; or

  2. The affirmative vote of at least four members of the five-member City Council, irrespective of any absences, recusals, or vacancies at the time of such vote; or

• b. The City Council votes to do so by the affirmative vote of at least four members of the five-member City Council, irrespective of any absences, recusals, or vacancies at the time of such vote.

Ranked Choice Voting is a method that allows voters to rank candidates for elected office in order of preference. Elections conducted by Ranked Choice Voting shall be used for single-seat and multi-seat elections. Elections conducted by Ranked Choice Voting are tabulated in rounds, as specified in this chapter.

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have the following meanings:

CITY CLERK — The City Clerk of the City of Albany, or his or her designee.

CONTINUING CANDIDATE — A candidate who has not yet been designated as elected or defeated.

ELECTION THRESHOLD — The number of votes sufficient for a candidate to be elected in a multi-seat contest. The election threshold equals the total votes counted for candidates in the first round of tabulation, divided by the sum of one plus the number of seats to be filled, then adding one, disregarding any fractions. Expressed as a formula, the election threshold = [(Total votes cast)/(Seats to be elected+1)] + 1, with any fraction disregarded.

EXHAUSTED BALLOT — A ballot with a ranking marked for at least one candidate but that does not contain a ranking for any continuing candidate, making the ballot unable to be transferred to another continuing candidate.

EXHAUSTED BY OVERVOTE — An instance in which a voter has ranked more than one candidate at the same ranking.

HIGHEST RANKED CONTINUING CANDIDATE — The continuing candidate on a voter's ballot with the lowest numerical ranking.

MULTI-SEAT ELECTION — An election in which two or more candidates can be designated as elected in a single contest to fill multiple seats in the same publicly elected office. This may also be referred to as a multi-winner election.

RANKING — The number assigned to a candidate by a voter that establishes the order in which that voter's ballot is transferred at the transfer value to that candidate during tabulation.

SEAT — An elected position occupied by one person, one or more of which form a publicly elected office.

SINGLE-SEAT ELECTION — An election in which only one continuing candidate can be designated as elected in the contest. This may also be referred to as a single-winner election.

SKIPPED RANKING — A voter has left a ranking order unassigned but ranks a candidate at a subsequent ranking order.

SPECIAL ELECTION — Any election that may be called to fill vacancies or unexpired terms pursuant to the City Charter.

SURPLUS FRACTION — A number equal to the quotient of the difference between an elected candidate's vote total and the election threshold, divided by the candidate's vote total [or, expressed as a formula, (VT)/V, in which "V" is the elected candidate's vote total and "T" is the election threshold], rounded down to four decimal places.

TRANSFER VALUE — The proportion of a vote that a ballot will contribute to its highest-ranked continuing candidate. If a ballot contributes to the election of a candidate, it receives a new transfer value pursuant to subparagraph 3 of paragraph a of Subsection 7-3.6.

• a. If a ballot contains a skipped ranking, the ballot shall be transferred to the highest-ranked continuing candidate. Just as one example, suppose that a ballot contains rankings for a voter's second choice, third choice, and fourth choice (i.e., the voter skipped his or her first-choice ranking). Assuming that the voter's second choice is a continuing candidate, the ballot shall be transferred to the voter's second choice.

• b. If a ballot contains an overvote, it shall count as an exhausted ballot when the overvote is reached.

There shall be no nomination of candidates and no write-in candidates to succeed any member who is the subject of a recall petition. If a member is recalled, his or her successor shall be determined pursuant to the procedures set forth to fill vacancies under the City Charter.

Any special election called for the same date as a general municipal election must be consolidated with the general municipal election. If they are not consolidated with a general municipal election, two or more special elections to elect members must themselves be consolidated, provided that those special elections have been called for the same date.

All consolidated elections of members will be combined into one multi-seat election. Any longer terms to be filled shall be awarded to the candidates who are first to be declared or designated as elected, and any shorter terms shall be awarded to the candidates who are last to be declared or designated as elected.

If any special election is not consolidated pursuant to Subsection 7-1.8, it shall be held using Ranked Choice Voting in a single-seat election, on the date of the next regularly established election to be held throughout the City of Albany at least 114 days from the call of the special election.