Email sent to CRC - Elections Info - Glasser 12-3-23DO NOT REPLY ALL PLEASE
Greetings, Mr. Chair and CRC members:
Following up from last week's CRC meeting...
Although a referendum would be voted on (and prevail) later, attached
is the report (by then-Commissioner John Stinson RIP) and Ordinance
33-17-23, which passed its second reading on 11/13/17, to eliminate the
primary election in AB and have our elections only at the general
election, where only a plurality of votes is required to win.
I think some comments on who did what may have been confusing in the
last meeting. To be clear, this was not legislation enacted during my
terms in office, although the referendum was on the ballot while I was
in office. I took no position on what the previous Commission had
passed, although I did get questions after our very close 2022 election,
when no candidate won by a majority. I was elected by a majority with
and without a primary, respectively, in 2017 and 2020. In 2020, I was
elected by more than 3000 more votes (with no primary) than in 2017
(with a primary), so voter turnout did increase for our local races.
As I recall, Election Supervisor (then and now) Jerry Holland was a
resource for Commissioner Stinson at the time. He is still an excellent
resource. Whether or not other jurisdictions have eliminated primaries
to increase turnout, I can not comment, but Mr. Holland surely knew this
was happening in AB at the time. I do think that eliminating the primary
results in making our elections more partisan.
II will leave this for you all to weigh. I hope this background is
helpful.
Thanks for your service, and happy holidays. Give me a call if you
want to chat.
Ellen Glasser
(904) 472-6262