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Poudre Valley Greens’ Ranked Voting Initiative Fails Approval, Mayoral Results Demonstrate Need

Fort Collins, Colorado (April 5, 2011) – Today, citizens of Fort Collins voted down a measure that would make ranked voting the new method for selecting candidates in municipal elections. The measure was defeated 61 to 39 percent.

Fort Collins Ranked Voting Campaign Committee Co-Chairs Eric Fried and Seth Anthony released the following statement regarding the measure:

“We are grateful to the thousands of voters who supported the measure for ranked voting in municipal elections. Support crossed party lines and was widespread in the city, thanks to the effort of so many volunteers and supporters to educate and mobilize voters.”

“The need for ranked voting in Fort Collins is clear, as no mayoral candidate received majority support in this election. The majority of voters in this election clearly preferred a candidate other than the final winner.

“Despite this setback, we will continue to advocate for voters to be able to rank their choices on the ballot, building on the momentum of this close race. Ranked voting is gaining ground across the country; as more communities adopt it, we expect Fort Collins voters will choose it too. Not every great idea gains universal acceptance the first time around.

“We are disappointed with the Chamber of Commerce’s decision to pour thousands of dollars into a last ditch campaign to mislead and scare voters.”

Supporters of ranked voting collected over 4000 signatures to put the initiative on the April 5th mail-in ballot, and volunteers waged a grassroots campaign to inform and mobilize voters in support of the measure.

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For more information on Fort Collins Ranked Voting, visit www.fortcollinsrankedvoting.com .

Marc Sanson

Campaign Coordinator, Fort Collins Ranked Voting

marc@msanson.com

970-599-1034