Our Research: RCV Reports & Data
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Ranked Choice Voting Dashboard
Released: January 2022
In 2022, we released a new interactive dashboard to present the latest data on women's representation in ranked choice cities. In addition to providing summary data on where ranked choice voting (RCV) is used and its impact on local representation, the RCV Dashboard includes updated case studies on the impact of ranked voting on women's representation in Cambridge, New York City, the Bay Area, and Utah.
New York City Research Portal
Updated: November 2021
In July 2021, we released our preliminary findings on the impact of ranked choice voting on women's representation in New York City, where RCV was used for the first time since the late 1940s to nominate candidates for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, the five borough presidents, and the city council. In November, our team revisited this research and produced a series of digital resources mapping out the history of women's representation on the New York City council, the re-introduction of RCV, and the impact RCV had on women candidates.
Election Reform & Women's Representation: Ranked Choice Voting in the U.S.
Released: June 2021
In 2021, we published an article in Politics and Governance on the history and impact of single- and multi-winner ranked choice voting on women’s representation in the U.S. In addition to revisiting some of the research from our 2016 and 2020 reports, this article allowed us to dig deeper into the available literature on ranked choice voting and identify knowledge gaps that should be addressed in future research.
In Ranked Choice Elections, Women WIN
Released: July 2020
Our 2020 ranked choice voting report, "In Ranked Choice Elections, Women WIN" provides a thorough review of ranked choice voting in the United States and how it is impacting women's representation in the cities that have implemented it. From 2010-2019, 19 cities and counties used ranked choice voting to elect their city officials, including 13 mayors and the city councilmembers in 14 jurisdictions. In that decade, women won 48% of all municipal elections.
The Importance of Ranked Choice Voting on Representation
Released: August 2016
In 2016, RepresentWomen (then known as Representation 2020) studied the impact of single-winner ranked choice voting in the California Bay Area (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francsico, and San Leandro), a "hotbed of RCV implementation," where over 100 ranked choice elections had taken place between 2004 and 2014 to decide local leadership in 53 offices. The study found that more women (42%) and people of color (60%) ran in and won these elections since ranked choice voting was introduced. By the start of 2016, women held 59% and people of color held 60% of these offices.
