Across the United States, ranked choice voting has been adopted in roughly 50 cities and used by 17 million voters. In RCV elections, women have won their first-ever majority in the Alaska House of Representatives, won their first election for governor in Maine, won open-seat mayoral races in cities like Minneapolis, Oakland, and San Francisco, and risen from 13 seats to 31 seats in the New York City Council. Women hold 52% of seats in jurisdictions with ranked choice voting – almost twice the norm in places without RCV.
Last election cycle, voters in 12 cities and two states – Maine & Alaska – participated in ranked choice voting elections, and nearly 3 million voters saw RCV-related measures on their ballot. Our RCV dashboard has up-to-date information on RCV’s use in the U.S., including a roundup of 2024’s RCV ballot measures.
RCV saw success at the city level in Washington, DC; Oak Park, IL; Peoria, IL; Bloomington, MN; and Richmond, CA, while Alaskans voted to retain their ranked-choice voting and open primary election system. Women also celebrated wins at the city level, including in:
- Berkeley, California, community organizer Adena Ishii will become Berkeley’s first woman of color mayor, beating city councilor Sophie Hahn.
- Burlington, Vermont, elected its first woman and LGBTQ+ mayor, Emma Mulvaney-Stanak;
- Portland, Oregon, elected its most diverse council in history (50% women, 42% women of color) in its first proportional RCV election.
These six snapshots break down representation in RCV cities by race and gender.
- RCV City Councils: Women's Racial Representation
- RCV City Councils: Gender Representation
- RCV City Councils: Racial Representation