The Good News: the Oregon legislature passed HB 5201 which allocates the exact amount specified in the Benton County voter-approved Ballot Measure to implement RCV in Benton County. The funds will be used to certify the new voting system and to conduct voter education and outreach about the switch to RCV.
However: we have been informed by the County Clerk that the County will NOT use RCV in 2018. The Clerk wants more time to do the education and implementation and believes that trying to get it all done by November would be too much of a push. The Clerk was also concerned that changing the system this late in the election cycle would not be fair to some of the candidates and parties who would not be prepared for campaigning under the new system.
We look forward to working with the County over the next 2 years for a stellar roll-out of Benton County's historic switch to this more democratic form of voting.
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