Ranked-choice push goes to District Court

A movement pushing for the Santa Fe City Council to implement ranked-choice voting for the 2018 municipal election will now head to state District Court, where a group of local rankedchoice advocates filed a petition Friday afternoon seeking a court order that would compel the city to use the ranking system approved by voters in 2008.

Last week, the state Supreme Court rejected the group’s petition seeking an emergency writ that would compel the City Council to act; the council twice this year voted to hold off on implementing the new system because they said too much uncertainty about its functionality remained.

The high court’s three-justice panel did not offer an explanation for its decision.

The group of petitioners are now seeking a similar court order from the First Judicial District Court in Santa Fe, citing a state statute that says the district

courts “shall be regarded as open at all times.”

The petitioners say the software the city will use in March will include a ranked-choice module certified by the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office. A spokesman for the secretary of state said Friday afternoon the software had been certified. A charter amendment approved by voters in 2008 said the city would implement the system in either the 2010 elections or as soon afterward as the equipment and software “for tabulation of votes and the ability to correct incorrectly marked, in-person ballots” was available at a reasonable price.