Ranked choice voting is under threat in California

In this article, the ranked choice voting system is discussed as a cost-effective way that is under threat in California, mentioning RepresentWomen's RCV research. Read an excerpt below:

Ranked voting works like this: Voters rank their choices — first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on — for a given elected office. If a candidate receives a majority of the vote, they win outright — just as in traditional elections. But if no candidate wins a majority, a new round of counting takes place. If your candidate is eliminated, your ballot is counted toward your second choice. The process continues until a candidate gains majority support, and thus wins.

There are many reasons to like ranked voting:

More women and people of color are elected: Women make up 51% of city council members elected in the last 33 ranked voting elections, similar to their overall population. That’s a much better record than among the 100 largest elected city councils, which average only 41% women elected. In the most recent election, voters in Berkeley, San Leandro, San Francisco and Oakland exclusively elected women and people of color as mayor. And a 2019 analysis of Bay Area cities found that candidates of color won 62% of elections since the adoption of ranked voting, compared with only 38% prior to its introduction.

It saves money and more people’s voices are heard: Ranked voting also eliminates the need for and cost of runoff elections, because voters only cast their ballots once. In San Francisco, the cost of the last city runoff in 2001 was $3 million, suggesting the city has saved millions each election cycle. Holding just one election instead of two reduces the burden on voters, and ultimately leads to far more voters — and a far more representative group of voters — participating in choosing their local government.

Read the full article here.