Tuesday's Minneapolis election is being watched in these parts and around the country as a test of ranked-choice voting (RCV), the opportunity for voters to indicate not only their favorite candidate, but a second and third choice should No. 1 perform poorly in the first round.
It's also a test of the civic claims Minneapolitans make about themselves. They're highly engaged, well-informed gentlefolk — or so they gladly say. Winters that last until half-past April (this year, it was early May) have schooled them in patience. Odd-even snow emergencies have taught them to cope with confusion in public processes. Their city government features lots of layers with lots of offices to fill because they like it that way — and they love to vote.
Will the same be said of them, by them or for them after the polls close at 8 p.m. Tuesday?
Here's my top tip for Minneapolis voters: Allow plenty of time at the polls. Better still, spend some quality time with the sample ballot at vote.minneapolismn.gov before you vote. You and the people behind you in line will be glad you did.
It's not that huge turnout is expected — not by presidential election standards, city officials told journalists and campaign aides at a briefing last week. Neither is the number of offices to be filled unusually high. Even with the overcrowding in the mayor's race, the ballot consists of only the front and back of a single sheet of paper.
But you'll need a few moments to scan the 35 names in the mayoral first-choice column to find your favorite. Then, in order to fully flex the electoral muscle that RCV affords, you must read that long list twice more, once for second choice, once for third.
Try to express all your choices in the same column? Sorry. The counting machine will spit out your ballot. You'll be invited to go back in line and try again. (If that happens for any reason, take a deep breath and consider your city's reputation before you sputter or stomp away. If you give up, city officials said, be assured that the perennially calm election judges will salvage and count any portion of your ballot that you didn't spoil.)
Planning to vote for the same candidate in all three columns, hoping to do your favorite a favor? Go ahead — the machine won't spurn your ballot. But you won't help your choice one whit. Planning to save time by voting in the first-choice column only? Feel free. That's a valid ballot, too.