New Way of Voting in Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS - Two weeks from Tuesday, voters in Minneapolis will be making history with a new way of voting, called ranked choice voting. It is similar to a primary and general election all rolled into one.

And in the city's sixth ward in south Minneapolis, it's leading to some very interesting strategies and political alliances.

Councilman Robert Lilligren is not only running for reelection, he's also explaining a new way to vote.

"I think it's clear to most people I’m a front runner and people are responding," said Lilligren.

His opponents are joining forces. Michael Tupper is a self-described libertarian. Andy Exley is chairman of the state's green party. Along with democrat Laura Jean, they're running as a political threesome.

They are asking voters to rank them, one, two and three, in any order they would like. The only person they're asking voters to leave out is the incumbent, Lilligren.

As a DFL incumbent, a lot of people may rank Lilligren as their number one choice. But by organizing themselves as a block, his opponents could take away not only number one ranks from Lilligran, but more importantly in a close election, all of those second and third choices. In a close election, that could make the difference.

The candidate with 50 percent of the preference wins. But figuring that out requires a complicated mathematical formula. Official election results may not be available for a few days. And no one really knows if this new system will give a boost to challengers or help incumbents stay in office.

Ultimately, the chips will fall where they may.