Agenda item 2 - Additional Discussion Regarding the Election Method for Members of the Orange County Board of Commissioners

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We By pooling votes to a single candidate minority groups have a greater chance of electing a candidate of their choice. There appears to be no violation of the "one person, one vote" principle in a cumulative voting setup due both to the fact that often it is implemented as a means of rectifying voting rights violations and because each voter has the same number of votes. If the Board were to select cumulative voting for Orange County Commissioner elections the Board must seek special legislative authority from the General Assembly. Chair Dorosin said the census data is from 2010, and asked if staff has looked at anything more recent. Greg Wilder said more recent data can be looked at, but decisions cannot be based on it. He said staff will research this. Commissioner McKee asked John Roberts if any changes endorsed by the BOCC would have to go to the legislature. John Roberts said no, the Board can choose to change the electoral structure and take it to a referendum. He said any changes to the voting method must go to the legislature. Commissioner McKee asked if changing to district nominate /district elect would be a change in the structure or the method. John Roberts said that would be a change in the structure, and is one of four statutorily authorized methods. He said if the BOCC wanted to divide the County into seven districts, where the voters in those districts both nominate and elect officials, then the County can accomplish that through referendum. Commissioner McKee asked what would happen if the same district set up remained, but changed the voting from district nominate /county elect to district nominate /district elect. John Roberts said such a change would go to referendum. Commissioner Marcoplos said back in 1992 he ran for County Commissioner as an Independent, and then the landfill debacle came up. He said so much attention was paid to representation that the County formed a committee. He said a lot of effort was put into trying to understand what may be done, and districts came to residents' minds. He said he was introduced to cumulative voting at that time, which was 1993. Commissioner Marcoplos said he always thought that cumulative voting was the more simple way to vote, and he said this empowers minorities in the political system. He said in cumulative voting, if there are three candidates each voter gets three votes, and can use them as he /she so chooses. He said what can happen, when one represents a district, is that one can become bound to what is popular in your district. He said the way commissioners are elected now means that many people's vote does not count, and in Orange County, this is mostly republicans. He said it is incumbent upon the BOCC to provide the fairest access to the democratic process, and he believes that cumulative voting is the best way to achieve this. He said this is the choice to settle legal issues over perceived unfair voting, and is the most fair. Chair Dorosin said cumulative voting would require legislative approval, and asked Commissioner Marcoplos if he thinks this could be pursued. Commissioner Marcoplos said someone has to raise the idea so that people can become educated. He said he is unsure if Commissioner McKee's idea of district nominate /district elect would change anything. Commissioner McKee said it would not change anything as far as the power structure as it exists now, but it would change the perception that in District 2, for example, that the district nominates, but the countywide election is what elects. He agreed that a republican