Ranked-Choice Voting isn't coming to Yakima County anytime soon. That's according to a news release from the Yakima County Commissioners.

ONEAMERICA FILED A LAWSUIT EARLIER THIS YEAR AGAINST THE COUNTY

In July of this year the group OneAmerica and four other people filed a lawsuit saying the county election system is unfair to Latino voters. The group who filed the lawsuit in Kittitas County Superior Court maintained the system was a violation of the state's Voting Rights Act.

A SETTLEMENT HAS BEEN REACHED IN THE LAWSUIT

A settlement has been reached in the case that commissioners say doesn't include Ranked-Choice Voting. A news release from the county says  "Commissioners  Amanda  McKinney,  LaDon  Linde,  and  Ron  Anderson,  with  the  assistance  of attorneys  Francis  Floyd  and  Brittany  Ward,  are  proud  to  have  successfully  brokered  a  settlement  that defeated  any  notion  of  Ranked-Choice  Voting  in  Yakima  County.  As  part  of  the  settlement,  a  new districting plan was drawn that enhances Latino voting power in compliance with Washington’s 2018 Voting Rights Act. Of the three new districts, one district ensures that Latinos will hold the majority voting power by the November 2022 general election."
The release continues saying "importantly, the settlement gives Yakima County protection for four years from similar lawsuits targeting its voting system."

RANKED-CHOICE VOTING IN BECOMING POPULAR IN SOME STATES

Ranked-choice voting is a electoral system in which voters by preference can rank political candidates on a ballot. According to the website Ballotpedia "If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. First-preference votes cast for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots. A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority."