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Over the next 10 months, residents of Snohomish County have a unique opportunity to improve our elections and government. As a chartered county, we have the power to decide how we elect our representatives. Last November, we elected a Charter Review Commission to review and generate proposals for changes to our charter, which we will be able to vote on this upcoming November.
Unfortunately, the method by which we elect our Charter Review Commissioners leaves a lot to be desired. It is currently done by “block voting,” a system where a territory is divided into non-proportionally elected multi-member districts where voters cast as many votes as there are seats, also called multiple non-transferable voting. This method is known to leave minorities in the dust, and a candidate can win an election with a tiny fraction of the vote. (Learn more here and here.) In fact, in 2025 and 2015, 14 out of the 15 Commissioners were elected with less than 20% of the vote.
The way we elect our County Council members, the familiar ‘winner take all’ method, is also not ideal. My experience, from talking to people in my community, is that many voters feel forced to vote for candidates based on ‘electability’ rather than voting their true conscience. My sense is that political and racial/ethnic minorities are discouraged from voting at all, knowing that no one who shares their worldview will gain a single seat at the table. Potential new candidates are discouraged from running against entrenched and well-connected incumbents, and candidates are forced to negatively campaign in a mad dash to beat down their most-well-financed opponent.
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