Basics for Voting in Cambridge
1. Do your homework.
Go to http://vote.cambridgecivic.com/ for a link to each candidate’s website to learn about each.
There are nine (9) City Council and six (6) school committee positions.
2. Make a list of those candidates whose policies or views you support.
On your ballot, you should rank only these candidates.
3. You can vote for as many candidates are you like (up to nine), but only one of your votes gets counted.
The voting process occurs in stages or counts, as describe on the right side of this page.
4. On your ballot, give your #1 vote to your first choice candidate - the person you most favor.
5. Continue voting for as many others as you favor in order of descending preference.
Fill in just one oval per column, one oval per candidate.
Vote for candidates you actively would want to see on the council if your #1 isn’t elected.
Again, only one of your votes will be counted.
6. Vote for like-minded candidates to ensure that the candidate who gets your vote is someone whose views you endorse.
Your vote might transfer to your #2 or #3 candidate in later rounds
7. Encourage everyone you know to vote. Spread the word about the importance of voting.
Democracy in Cambridge only works if we participate and vote.
Overview of Vote Counting
1. Quota is the winning threshold; i.e., number of votes a candidate needs to be elected to the City Council or School Committee
10% of all votes cast + 1.
In 2023, quota was 2,334 votes.
2. On Round 1 (“First Count”) any candidate reaching the quota is elected.
Once elected a candidate receives no additional votes.
3. At this point two other things happen:
Surplus ballots of candidates who reach quota are distributed “from the top down” to the #2 candidate, or a lower choice if that candidate has also reached quota.
Then, candidates with fewer than 50 #1 votes are eliminated and their ballots transfer to the next ranked candidate.
4. All subsequent rounds are “bottom up” tabulations.
The tabulation turns to the candidate with the least #1 votes. That candidate is declared defeated.
5. When a defeated candidate is out of the race, the vote goes to the next most highly ranked candidate on those ballots, from whoever is still in the race.
As votes redistributed from the bottom put a candidate at quota, that person is elected and receives no further votes.
6. In each round the candidates with least votes is eliminated with votes moving to next-ranked candidates.
Elimination rounds continue until only 9 candidates remain. These are declared elected even if short of quota.