New Westminster school trustees are considering a randomized ballot, rather than an alphabetized list, for this fall’s school board elections.
The idea arose at the May 24 school board meeting when an updated trustee elections bylaw came up for review.
Trustee Maya Russell suggested the board reconsider the section of the bylaw that states: “The order of names of candidates on the ballot will be alphabetical.”
She proposed changing “alphabetical” for “randomized.”
“It’s a remarkable fact of political science and municipal elections that there is a strong correlation between alphabetization and election results,” she said. “I suggest that a randomized selection would be more fair, and it would be a great change for us to make.”
Trustees Gurveen Dhaliwal and Mark Gifford suggested the district should ensure that their approach aligns with the City of New Westminster’s, since mayoral and city council candidates will also be chosen in the Oct. 15 elections.
Trustees agreed to postpone a final decision on the trustee elections bylaw until their June board meeting, after the school district has had a chance to confer with the city.
The trustee elections bylaw also spells out what would happen in the event of a tie vote. If, after a judicial recount, two candidates end up in a tie, the tie would be resolved by lot.
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