Election Night 2019 Featured Ranked-Choice Voting, Sanctuary Cities, And Plenty Of Mess

On Tuesday (November 5), people in communities across the nation headed to the ballot box to cast their votes on propositions, city council members, state legislators, and governors alike. It was a wild night featuring notable wins across the political spectrum, and firsts in Arizona, Kentucky, and Virginia — plus it can serve as an indication of what’s to come in the fateful 2020 presidential election. Here’s what you missed:


Tucson, Arizona voted against becoming a sanctuary city


The folks who stay in Tucson, Arizona, reliably vote for Democratic candidates and proposals — essentially, they’re a big blue dot surrounded by a pool of red. On November 5, the city elected Democrat Regina Romero as their first-ever Latina mayor of the city. (She’s replacing Democrat Jonathan Rothschild, who determined not to seek re-election.) Each and every one of the city council wards up for election — Ward 1, Ward 2, and Ward 4 — saw Democrats elected to the seats.


Nevertheless any time it comes to the idea of becoming a sanctuary city, which would allowance the circumstances in which police officers could ask about immigration status, the response from Tucson voters was a resounding “no.” More than 70 percent of people voted against the proposition, while about 29 percent voted “yes.”


People’s Defense Initiative, the categorize in back of the proposal (including Green Shirt Guy), said in a statement to the Tucson Star that despite the results, “thousands of Tucsonans made clear their desire for new policies that protect the most susceptible in our community.”


“We are incredibly overjoyed of the hard work and inspiring commitment of our team and the hundreds of Tucsonans who made this campaign their very own,” the statement mentioned. “Through this effort, we were able to uplift a crucial city-wide conversation that changed Tucson for the better.”


Democrats won in Virginia


Democratic candidates crushed Virginia elections, taking complete control of the whole Virginia government for the opening time in more than two decades, the Washington Post reported. Prior to the election, there was just a two-seat GOP advantage in both chambers; every seat was up for election last night. Come the state’s swearing-in on January 8, 2020, Democrats will have a majority in both legislative chambers (75 to 62), while Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam continues his term. The state also elected Ghazala Hashmi to the state Senate; she'll be the first Muslim woman to serve at that level in Virginia.


Whether or not this is a sign for what’s to come in 2020, one thing is for sure: This election has major policy repercussions. Republican-majority legislatures have either stalled or struck down a couple of bipartisan and progressive policies, from tightening access to guns to raising the minimum wage and getting rid of right-to-work laws.


This comes immediately after a very scandal-fueled few months in Virginia. In February, Gov. Northam was accused of appearing in a racist yearbook photo complete with Ku Klux Klan regalia and blackface. He admitted it, and then later denied it. Just days later, two ladies came forward with allegations that Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, a Democrat, had sexually assaulted each of these (he has denied the allegations). Later that month, Virginia Democratic Attorney General Mark Herring admitted that he once wore blackface, also. As of publish time, none of the three males have stepped down from their positions.


New Jersey is getting (a bit) redder


While final results are still being tallied in New Jersey, Republicans in the state seemed to have gained two seats in the Assembly and one in the Senate, according to the New York Times. Democrats won’t lose their state-wide majority, though, as they currently operate the chamber and are leading by a wide margin in the seats that were up for election.


Democrats took Pennsylvania


Plenty of eyes were on Pennsylvania’s election results, given that the state is an often-critical battleground in presidential races. Democrats took control of local government — including in Delaware County, which has been in Republican control since the Civil War, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.


Kentucky is messy


Republicans did well in Kentucky, capturing most of the state-wide elections. That is, with the exception of Governor, where incumbent Republican Governor Matt Bevin seemingly lost to Democratic challenger Attorney General Andy Beshear. Yet, with most of them of the precincts counted, Beshear is ahead by around 5,000 votes; as a result, Bevin resisted to concede, saying there “have been lots of irregularities,” according to the New York Times.


Beshear, on the other hand, mentioned Kentucky voters sent their message “loud and clear for each person to hear.”


“It’s a message that says our elections don’t have to be about right versus left, they are still about right versus wrong,” Beshear said.


Republican Daniel Cameron, who used to work as legal counsel for Senator Mitch McConnell, won the race to replace Beshear because the Attorney General. He became the opening Black man to win the position in Kentucky — and the initial Republican to do so in over 70 years, according to the New York Times.


Republicans won in Mississippi


Trump took Mississippi by nearly 18 points in 2016, so it’s no surprise that Republican Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves won the Governor's race, conquering Democrat Jim Hood. What would be surprising is that people voted to elect a candidate who was seen at a neo-Confederate gathering in 2013. Nearly 38 percent of Mississippi residents are Black; in September, four Black residents filed a federal lawsuit against the state, alleging that its two-tiered path to securing a statewide elected office deliberately disenfranchises Black voters.


New York City voted in favor for ranked-choice voting


Ranked-choice voting — wherein voters can rank their top candidates in categorize, by marking first-choice candidate first, their second-choice candidate second, their third-choice candidate third, and thus on — permits voters to have a mention in who their backup plan could be should their preference candidate not clinch a majority. And New Yorkers want a backup plan.


New York City joined 20 other cities around the nation by approving Ballot Question 1 in a margin of nearly 3-1, according to Politico, meaning voters will have the ability to cast their vote using a ranked-choice system in local primary and special elections starting in 2021.


Ranked-choice voting is supported by politicians like Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang. They mention that, because it forces candidates to rely on a broader base categorize in attempt to win, they must engage with a wide number of voters. Proponents of ranked-choice voting argue it increases voter turnout, permits voters to express how they feel about countless candidates; creates room for moderacy; and gets rid of some of the negative campaigning. In addition, it might give voters more possibilities to imagine numerous candidates. Opponents of ranked-choice voting argue that it makes the process also complex, though Maine residents using the system seem to be doing just fine.