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Women Mayors and Council Members in RCV Cities - January 2025 Snapshots

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.

 


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