User:Sarawolk/STAR Voting

STAR Voting is an electoral system for single-seat elections. The name (an allusion to 5 star ratings) stands for "Score then Automatic Runoff", referring to the fact that this system is a combination of Score Voting, to pick two finalists with the highest total scores, followed by a "automatic runoff" in which the finalist who is preferred on more ballots wins. It is a type of cardinal voting and a type of preference voting.

Method

In STAR, voters score candidates from 0 to 5 stars, where 0 is "worst" and 5 is "best." Voters who have no preference may give candidates the same scores, and those left blank receive a 0.

The scores for each candidate are then summed, and the two highest-scoring candidates are selected as finalists who advance to an automatic runoff.

In the runoff round, each ballot is considered a vote for the finalist who was scored higher (preferred) on that ballot. Ballots which scored both finalists equally are considered a vote of "no preference" between those two. The finalist preferred by the majority wins.

Usage

The concept was first proposed in October 2014 by Mark Frohnmayer, and was initially called score plus top two or score runoff voting (SRV). The runoff step was introduced in order to reduce strategic incentives in ordinary score voting, such as bullet voting and tactical maximization. Thus, STAR is intended to be a hybrid between (rated) score voting and (ranked) instant runoff voting.

The first movement to implement STAR Voting was centered in Oregon, with chapters in Eugene, Portland, Salem, Astoria, and Ashland. In July 2018, supporters submitted over 16,000 signatures for a ballot initiative in Lane County, OR, putting Measure 20-290 on the November 2018 ballot. This ballot measured failed, with 47.6% of voters voting yes, and 52.4% of voters voting no.

In 2019, the Multnomah County Democratic Party adopted STAR for all internal elections.

A 2020 ballot initiative for the city of Eugene (in which a 54% majority had supported the 2018 county initiative) is underway, as well as a second attempt at Lane County.

The Independent Party of Oregon will use STAR voting in their 2020 primary election.