Some in Park City would prefer City Hall alter the municipal election system to ranked choice voting.

Doing so, the supporters say as an example, could result in fringe candidates having less of a chance of winning an office.

But there are others who want the mechanics of Park City elections to remain as they have been, with the top vote-getters winning outright. The critics of ranked choice voting say the system could be confusing, among other arguments.

Park City leaders are considering introducing ranked choice voting in the 2025 City Hall election, when the mayor’s office and two seats on the Park City Council will be on the ballot.

Mayor Nann Worel and the City Council on Thursday are scheduled to discuss the topic and possibly provide direction. A decision whether to opt for ranked choice voting would be made later.

Ranked choice voting is a system that has a voter rank the candidates in the order of their preference. If a candidate receives greater than 50% of the first-place votes, they win the seat. Should none of the candidates receive greater than 50%, the person who finished last in first-place votes is dropped and the second-place votes on that candidate’s ballots are redistributed to the remaining contenders, effectively as first-place votes. The process continues until a candidate tops 50%. Another round is conducted to determine a second-place winner in an election with more than one seat on the ballot.

The voting method eliminates the need to hold primary elections.

Ranked choice voting is allowed in Utah municipalities under a pilot program.

Park City earlier in the year gathered opinions from Parkites and others, but a City Hall report drafted in anticipation of the meeting on Thursday indicated there was “minimal” input. Even so, the engagement efforts resulted in a cache of written comments. City Hall compiled those comments and provided them to the elected officials as part of the materials for the Thursday meeting.

The anonymous comments included those left by people who live in Park City and those from outside the municipal limits. The comments, many of them impassioned, are extraordinarily wide ranging and illustrate the difficulty Park City leaders may encounter in building community consensus if they pursue ranked choice voting for the election in 2025.

Comments expressing support of ranked choice voting included:

  • “The voter really needs to focus on why they are choosing a particular candidate and also needs to investigate all candidates to make informed choices.”
  • “The candidates must appeal to the middle — to a broader base. It has the potential to break down partisanship.”
  • “I can vote more strategically and guarantee that my vote matters even if it doesn’t match the majority of other voters choices.”
  • “The higher chance of moderate people being elected and no one’s vote is wasted. It feels like better consensus could be found.”
  • “Makes elections less about the fringes and the crazies.”

Some of the comments expressing concern regarding ranked choice voting:

  • “Highest vote getter wins. Second highest is second and so on. Stop changing what has worked for years by new ideas that are manipulating elections.”
  • “It violates the concept of One Person One Vote. It appears to be a sham of the Constitution.”
  • “Complicating voting often results in lower trust and less informed decisions.”
  • “Some voters may oppose it because they do not understand how it works.”
  • “Confuses and demoralizes voters. Weird, unpredictable outcomes.”

The City Council meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Marsac Building. The elected officials are slated to take public input about the topic. More information about the meeting as well as the materials compiled for the mayor and City Council about ranked choice voting are available on the municipal website, www.parkcity.org. The direct link is: www.parkcity.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/39646/15.