Now that COVID-19 has made us all experts at mail-in voting, more newness awaits—for city voters at least. On March 2, the primary municipal election, they’ll participate in approval voting for the first time. Thanks to Proposition D, passed by voters last November, St. Louis elections are now restructured. The mayor, comptroller, aldermen and alderwomen, and president of the Board of Aldermen now run on a nonpartisan basis—candidates will appear on the ballots without their party affiliation, and voters will be able to select as many as they want. The two candidates with the highest percentages of the votes will then go on to the April 6 general election. The idea is that the candidate who wins should have the support of a majority of voters. In contrast, in the 2017 primary, Mayor Lyda Krewson won with just 32 percent of the vote. Approval voting has its perks, namely that it should remove the “spoiler candidate” effect. One drag? Many voters don’t know how it works. We decided to put it into terms any St. Louisan can understand: our city’s cult foods and all-time-favorite hometown celebrity...who also has a food last name. A couple of caveats: One, we’re not sure where Jon Hamm is registered to vote, but it’s probably not the city of St. Louis. Two, don’t hate us for dunking on Provel—we had to pick a spoiler candidate for the purpose of this little experiment.
PARTISAN VOTING (PV)
Ravi Oli has a lot of support in St. Louis. Let’s say it’s 65 percent of the vote. Smoky Provel has a smaller but dedicated base. Let’s put it at 35 percent of the vote. A third candidate, Goo E. Buttercake, enters the race. She has an ideology similar to that of frontrunner Ravi Oli, and she’s promising sweet progress. Some Ravi Oli supporters like Goo E. Buttercake’s platform as well—decadent but different.
APPROVAL VOTING (AV)
Let’s consider the same scenario with our three candidates. In approval voting, party labels are removed and voters can select any and however many candidates they agree with. In other words, voters get to approve the candidate they think will do a good job instead of worrying about who can beat the candidate they really don’t want.
CANDIDATE 1:
Daniel Sulzberg
Ravi Oli
“FRIED AND TRUE”
PV: Voter Jon Hamm, who likes both Ravi Oli and Goo E. Buttercake, has a tough choice to make. He kinda thinks Goo E. Buttercake is the most qualified candidate—but because she’s so similar to Ravi Oli, he’s worried that if he votes for her, Ravi Oli’s base will split. 33%
AV: Those who like both Ravi Oli and Goo E. Buttercake, such as Jon Hamm, select each. Those who really don’t want Smoky Provel in office approve Ravi Oli and Goo E. Buttercake. 65% (WINNER)
CANDIDATE 2:
Daniel Sulzberg
Smoky Provel
“TRUST THE PROCESSED”
PV: Such a split will allow Smoky Provel to come out on top. And Jon Hamm really wants to keep Smoky Provel out of office. This is a bummer, because at this point, he’s no longer picking his favorite candidate but rather going for the one he believes can beat the candidate he doesn’t like. 35% (WINNER)
AV: Supporters of only Smoky Provel—uh, whoever they may be—choose him. 35%
CANDIDATE 3:
Daniel Sulzberg
Goo E. Buttercake
“SWEET PROGRESS”
PV: What happens? Some voters vote for Ravi Oli only because they think he can best Smoky Provel. Goo E. Buttercake and Ravi Oli end up splitting the vote, with Goo E. Buttercake getting 32 percent and Ravi Oli getting 33 percent. Smoky Provel, the spoiler candidate, is elected. Jon Hamm is sad. 32%
AV: Now what happens? Because some Goo E. Buttercake supporters also approve Ravi Oli, the vote isn’t split. Those two candidates, who received the most support, move on to the general election. Jon Hamm is happy. 48% (WINNER)
