Electing Portland’s Government with Ranked-Choice Voting

Sample ballot from https://www.portland.gov/transition/documents/ranked-choice-voting-fact-sheetenglish/download
    • In the 2024 General Election, Portland voters will use ranked-choice voting to elect our mayor, city auditor, and city councilors. There will be other races on your ballot, but ranked-choice voting will only be used for city offices.
    • Filling out a ranked-choice ballot is easy – all you need to do is to rank candidates in order of choice – your first choice, second choice, third choice, etc.
    •  You can rank up to six of the candidates you like.
    • In places that have already adopted ranked choice voting, exit polls show 80-90% of voters understand how to rank candidates on their ballots – even the first time. These percentages increase in subsequent elections.
    • Ranked choice voting ballots will be handled by election officials and counted with certified software to ensure that the vote counts are secure, accurate and reliable.

(Note that we will be using the traditional ballots you have used before to elect U.S., state, and Multnomah County officials – with only one choice for each of those offices).

How Ranked-Choice Ballots Will Be Counted for Our Mayor and City Auditor

    • We will use single-winner ranked-choice voting to elect our mayor and city auditor.
    • Watch this video from Multnomah County Elections to see how to fill out a ranked-choice ballot and how the votes for mayor and auditor will be counted.

How Ranked-Choice Ballots Will Be Counted for Our City Councilors

    • Don’t worry. Your ballot for the City Council will look the same as the ballot for mayor and auditor; you will still be ranking candidates!
    • We will use multi-winner ranked-choice voting to elect three city councilors in each of the four new geographic districts. This method is sometimes called “Single Transferable Vote,” as in the following video.
    • If you’re curious about how multi-winner ranked-choice ballots will be counted, watch  the next  video, produced for Rose City Reform.

Why RCV is Being Adopted for More Elections:

    • The goal of ranked-choice voting is to elect candidates with broad voter support. As a group, the winners should fairly represent more than a majority of the voters in each voting district.
    • When voters rank all their favorite candidates with RCV,  it’s more likely that their votes will count for candidates they like. Fewer votes will be wasted.
    • Ranked-choice voting offers voters more power to elect the candidates who represent their values.
    • Multi-winner ranked-choice voting allows voters to elect representatives who, as a group, broadly reflect the interests of the people they serve. The majority is fully represented, and minorities are also represented.
    • With multi-winner ranked-choice voting, groups of significant size – such as the working class, people of color, young people, renters, and seniors – have a greater opportunity to elect councilors who understand their concerns. Ranked-choice voting with multi-member district elections increases the range of people and views represented – making the government more equitable.