The Final Four Open Primary with Ranked-Choice Voting are the topics of discussion at the 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 15, webinar meeting of the League of Women Voters of the Helena Area.

Both these items could be Citizen Initiatives on Montana’s fall ballot.

Melinda Leas, a LWV member who is one of eight private citizens filing paperwork to put these Initiatives on the ballot, will be the guest speaker.

“Ranked-Choice voting gives you the ability that instead of voting for one candidate for an office, you can rank your choices 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. In many ways it gives you more voice and more options when you vote,” Leas says.

Not only will she help participants understand Ranked-Choice Voting, but she will also explain the Final Four Open Primary and its relationship to Ranked-Choice voting.

“Ranked-Choice voting is becoming a bigger issue,” says local LWV co-chair Claire Kearns. “It’s being seen as a major mechanism to end divisiveness in politics because it forces candidates to appeal to a broader audience, not just a small base.”

The public is welcome to join this online meeting. For a link to join the meeting via Zoom, send an email to lwv.helena [at] gmail.com. 

Please note that the time is 7:00 p.m. instead of the usual noon meeting.