Supporters of Measure 2-100, the Benton County Ranked Choice Voting initiative, will hold a Campaign Kick Off event which will include a simulated ranked choice election where participants will sample and rank local beer. The event, to be held at 5:30 pm on Monday, October 17, at the Old World Deli, 341 SW Second Street in downtown Corvallis, will be hosted by JoAnne Trow; State Representative Dan Rayfield; County Commissioner candidate Xan Augerot; and Stephanie Hampton, founder of Corvallis for Bernie. The event is free and open to the public but, of course, only those 21 and over with proper ID will be able to participate in the sampling and ranking exercise.
Benton County Measure 2-100, will be the only Benton County measure on the ballot this November. If passed, it would establish Ranked Choice Voting for electing county officials in the general election. Party primaries will not be affected by the measure.
State Rep. Dan Rayfield, an event host and one of the measure’s two Chief Petitioners, said “this is a great opportunity for folks to come and learn about Ranked Choice Voting and see just how easy it is to use.”
“What could be more of an Oregon experience than using an innovative voting method to rank local beer?” said Blair Bobier, the measure’s other Chief Petitioner. “Besides,” Bobier continued, “in the midst of a really discouraging election, an event like this shows voters how they have the power to change things and really make a difference.”
Benton County’s Ranked Choice Voting campaign has been drawing attention from all over the region. Sightline Institute, a Seattle-based think-tank, published an in-depth analysis of Measure 2-100 and two Eugene outlets, the Eugene Weekly and KVAL-TV also recently covered the campaign. The Sightline article can be found here.
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Printable version of this news release is available here.