Nine False Claims Against Issue 8 and Proportional Representation
The Committee to Protect our Votes and the leading opponents of Issue 8 and proportional representation (PR) have made inaccurate or misleading claims about Cincinnati political leaders’ position on Issue 8, how proportional representation works, how PR was developed, how PR can be implemented, how hard it will be to vote with PR and how PR is likely to affect representation and governance. Here are answers to some of these claims.
Claim #1: All elected members of the Cincinnati city council oppose Issue 8.
Fact: At least one member of the council has rebutted this claim and is no longer listed as opposed.
Claim #2: PR is an “un-American” parliamentary system invented by socialists in the 1890s.
Fact: PR is not a parliamentary system. It has long roots in the United States and was not invented by socialists. Murray Seasongood led the fight to bring PR to Cincinnati and said “Proportional Representation is the shield and the essence of the charter."
Claim #3: Every time they vote, voters will need to read four pages of instructions.
Fact: Both voter instructions and the list of candidates will fit on a single page.
Claim #4: The federal government prohibits hand-counting .We cannot implement PR in 2009.
Fact: Hand-counting is allowed under federal law and was done in major cities in counties with Help America Vote Act-funded equipment in 2007. Hand-counting is one of several tested means to implement Issue 8 that would cost the City well under $100,000.
Claim #5: Not all votes are counted with PR. The Board of Elections or City Council could manipulate results by abusing Issue 8’s rules for distributing surplus votes from winners
Fact: Every ballot in PR is counted for its first choice. No neighborhood is favored in the count. Issue 8 prevents manipulation of results and ensures fair treatment of all candidates.
Claim #6: You cannot show your support for more than one candidate with PR
Fact: The fact that a voter can rank nine candidates has an impact on all those candidates. In PR elections, some candidates often choose to endorse one another and run as a team.
Claim #7: African American representation is fairer under the 9x system than with PR
Fact: In the last nine PR elections, African Americans won representation in near exact relation to their population share. African Americans hold only two seats even though their share of the city is nearly triple what it was when two African Americans won with PR.
Claim #8: Issue 8 will result in negative campaigning and a “return to chaos”
Fact: Cincinnati was recognized as the best-governed city in America in the days of PR, with leaders like Charlie Taft, Murray Seasongood, Potter Stewart and Ted Berry. Ranked choice voting systems are well-known for promoting more positive campaigns because it help you win if you are the second or lower choice of supporters of other candidates.
Claim #9: Proportional representation was not used in the Democratic presidential primaries
Fact: Proportional representation was a key element of every Democratic primary. The Iowa caucus form of PR was very like Issue 8’s PR – voters could move to backup choices.
See new report by Ohio Citizen Action and FairVote Cincinnati with a full investigation of how opponents of Issue 8 are making false claims against Issue 8 and proportional representation.
[DOWNLOAD FULL REPORT - .PDF]
