An effort to change the way people are elected in Lane County, Oregon, has failed.
The STAR, or Score, Then Automatic Runoff system, would have let voters award each candidate a score. They could mark a zero for no support and five for the greatest support.
The two candidates with the highest cumulative scores would then go to an instant runoff.
Supports say the present winner-take-all method sometimes forces voters to support the least objectionable candidate. They say it can also lead to situations where candidates with similar views split the vote and a so-called “spoiler” emerges.
The measure was being pushed by Alan Zundel, a former political science professor who ran for Secretary of State in 2016. It failed by 52 percent to 48 percent.
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