The Editors

Why is it that we persist in the expensive and arguably unfair voting process we have in Charleston County, City and South Carolina? Why don't we not adopt the preferential system that is used in most other western countries.

Presently, if there are more than 3 candidates in a race, there is a run-off election if no candidate wins 50% of more in the first poll. This system tends to favor the candidate with the most money, who is better placed to finance two elections. If there are 5 or 6 candidates, the run-off may be very unfair because the preferences of those who voted for the candidates that did not make the run-off are ignored.

What is lost if voters were to mark their preferences for candidates in numerical order? This would be done in the first election. In a 3 person race, the preference of voters for the candidate who received the least amount of votes would be distributed to the remaining candidates. The remaining candidate with the highest amount of votes with the addition of preferences wins. No run off, no extra cost, and a fair election.