Politics & Government

Bullet Voting Could Upset Mayor's Race

The mayor's race has been won by slim margins in past elections, making it susceptible to bullet voting.

In a seven-seat race with , no shakeup greater than one is possible. But the mayor’s seat is a different story. With bullet voting creating a buzz around town, Mayor Judith “J” Davis, might face some serious competition.

Greenbelter Ed James said he doesn't pay much attention to rumors because things get distorted so easily. But he did think there was potential for a three-way race for mayor between Judith “J” Davis, Mayor Pro Tem Emmett Jordan and council member Rodney Roberts.

How the Bullet Vote Works

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And just how could the bullet vote affect this outcome? Bullet voting occurs when instead of using seven votes to support seven candidates, a citizen opts out of six of their rightful votes and chooses to vote for only one candidate.

Taking a look at this on a small scale, if five people vote for the same seven candidates and a sixth person only votes for one. Guess who wins the mayor’s seat? You got it—whoever the single voter selected.

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On a larger scale, if the majority of citizens choose the same seven candidates and 11 citizens vote for only one of the seven—the mayor’s seat could potentially come down to 11 bullet votes.

Close Mayors Races May Tempt Bullet Voters

Not possible you think. In 2007, 1,898 citizens voted in the election, and Davis beat Roberts by a mere 20 votes. Had 11 of out of 20 citizens reversed their votes or voted in bullet fashion, we might have had a Mayor Roberts that year.

In the 2009 elections, Davis beat Jordan by only 49 votes, had 25 voters reversed or opted to bullet vote for Jordan, he may have been able to drop the Pro Tem and just keep the Mayor.

Newly-elected city council members ultimately elect Greenbelt’s mayor from amongst themselves. Yet, historically Greenbelt voters have a huge impact—if not the deciding say—in who becomes mayor. Though it's not legally obligated, by long-standing precedent, council has selected as mayor the candidate receiving the most citizen votes.

Given the close margins determining mayorial victories, voters may be tempted to use their influence over council's selection by beefing up their mayoral choice through bullet voting. This strategy may hold particular sway over those who believe that their seven votes won’t make any real difference in the outcome of the city council race itself.

In a year when seven incumbents are running for seven seats against one new candidate, William Orleans, the only mystery is whether the least popular city council candidate will lose his or her seat.

For some, the mayor's race trumps that contest, while for others—bringing in a new council member is more of a priority. Still others might want to ensure several of their favorite council members remain seated. Bullet voting isn't restricted to one lone vote, it could involve any number of combinations under seven.

And though it may be news to some, it isn’t new to Greenbelt. In the 2009 election, 2,399 citizens voted. Although each had the right to cast seven votes, had they done so—the total number of votes (7 x 2,399) would have been 16,793 instead of the 13,538 that came in.

Bullet Voting is Legal

And single votes are legal. Greenbelt city clerk Cindy Murray confirmed, “You can single shot vote, you can vote for two, you can vote for four—you just can’t vote for more than seven.”

When asked his opinion on bullet voting, Greenbelter Andy Zmidzinski, wasn’t aware it was possible. He thought he was obliged to vote for seven candidates.

Standing nearby in the co-op grocery store, Greenbelter Paul Downs said he was aware of the practice but suggested that Zmidzinski may have been thrown off by the ballot wording.

Realizing his voting choices were greater than he had realized, it still didn’t take Zmidzinski long to decide he didn’t like the idea of bullet voting. It felt too much like gaming the system to him.

Orleans May Be a Barometer for Disatisfaction with Council

Addressing what he considered the second facet of the race, James said historically someone running for city council against the incumbency didn’t have much of a chance. He suspected Orleans was a long shot. Even if he didn’t gain a seat, though, James felt Orleans’ race might send a message about citizens’ opinions of the standing council.

“It’s like he’s a barometer,” James said, explaining that if Orleans did well—in two years, more people might venture into the race, feeling that they had a shot against the incumbents.

Game Theory in Greenbelt

Hanging out in the New Deal Tuesday night, Greenbelters John Cooper and Mike Stark said they hadn’t thought much about the election yet. When it came to bullet voting, Cooper said, “That’s a good strategy in my game theorist mind.”

But he said Greenbelt elections were not like national elections, where if the wrong candidate got elected you were in trouble. He felt all our present council members were doing a good job.

Still, he thought there were better election systems than Greenbelt’s. Ours reminded him of old-style elections, where two candidates faced off and the loser became the vice president.

Alternatives to Elections Greenbelt Style

It would be more interesting, Cooper thought, to give each person a certain number of votes that they could place any way they wished—giving one candidate three, another two and so forth—until all seven votes or so were used.

Stark chimed in, referencing European countries that did just that. But he thought instant runoff voting was a worthy alternative. Under this system, voters rank candidates as first, second, third and so on—and one by one the lowest voter gets knocked off the list, causing the votes to be re-tallied for the candidates left standing.

Sitting in the front room of the New Deal, holding a Ph.D. in international politics, Roy Wallace from Baltimore joked and said his preference was a benevolent dictator.

From the other side of the table, Matt Birdell of the District of Columbia shrugged his shoulders and said, “A Greenbelt benevolent dictator, you never know.”

Regardless of the form, to have elections in itself was an accomplishment according to Wallace, because when citizens get to vote, at least they have a say.


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