Coravia’s electoral commission has recommended that all 214 municipal councils move to ranked-choice ballots from 2030, in what would be the largest change to how the country votes since the district reforms of the 1980s.
Under the proposal, voters would number candidates in order of preference rather than marking a single cross. Candidates with the fewest first preferences would be eliminated in rounds, their votes transferring until a winner passes 50 per cent.
Commission chair Anders Halvey said three years of trials in nine towns produced “more competitive races, fewer wasted votes and no measurable rise in spoiled ballots” — the last point a rebuttal to the reform’s most persistent criticism. Turnout in trial wards rose by an average of 2.4 percentage points.
The recommendation now goes to the Interior Ministry, which must respond within six months. Government sources signalled cautious support, while the Concord Party said it would back the change if it came “with a serious voter-education budget, not a leaflet”.
Councils themselves are split. The Meridale city executive welcomed the plan, but a bloc of rural councils warned that hand-counting transferable ballots could slow declarations in wards without electronic counting. The commission estimates one-off implementation costs at $46m nationwide.
If ministers accept the recommendation, enabling legislation would reach the Assembly next spring — putting the first ranked municipal elections on the calendar within four years.