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# POLL: Nearly Two-Thirds of Chula Vista Voters Want to Change the Way They Vote
- URL: https://ivn.us/poll-nearly-two-thirds-chula-vista-voters-want-change-way-they-vote/
- Published: 2024-05-13T16:12:44.000Z
- Updated: 2026-05-14T14:31:59.000Z
- Description: A recent poll conducted by Competitive Edge research with funding by More Choice San Diego found that 62% of voters in Chula Vista -- if given the opportunity -- would support a measure that would advance five candidates to a general election that uses ranked ballots.
- Author: Shawn Griffiths
- Tags: Election Reform, California, More Choice, IVP Polls

*Photo Credit: [Roman Eugeniusz](https://web.archive.org/web/20161031010114/http://www.panoramio.com/user/1699605?with%5Fphoto%5Fid=123333888) / Panoramio*

In 2020, voters in the “red” state of Alaska passed a ballot measure that created a nonpartisan election system that advances four candidates to the general election ballot.

Four years later, [Nevada voters](https://ivn.us/posts/nevada-picks-torch-nonpartisan-and-competitive-elections) are on the verge of winning a similar election change that would give voters more choice in the general election. [Arizona](https://www.makeelectionsfairaz.com/?ref=ivn.us), [Massachusetts](https://partnersindemocracy.us/?ref=ivn.us), and even voters in states like [Idaho](https://ivn.us/posts/next-big-win-better-election-reform-could-come-where-voters-least-expect) have credible efforts to create elections where voters can rank four or five candidates, instead of picking just one.  
  
Now, head down to the south-San Diego city of Chula Vista, and voters are overwhelmingly saying, “give us more choice.”

A [recent poll](https://cms.ivn.us/sites/default/files/2024-05/Chula%20Vista%20More%20Choice%20Topline.pdf?ref=ivn.us) conducted by [Competitive Edge](https://cerc.net/?ref=ivn.us) research with funding by [More Choice San Diego](https://morechoicesd.org/?ref=ivn.us) found that 62% of voters in Chula Vista -- if given the opportunity -- would support a measure that would advance five candidates to a general election that uses ranked ballots. Just 30% of voters are likely to oppose the measure, with the remaining voters undecided.

Notably, the poll found that the measure is supported by a majority of Democrats, independents, and even Republicans in the city of about 300,000 people. Overall, 86% of Chula Vista voters said it was at least somewhat important to give voters more candidate options, even if they didn’t support the proposed initiative.

A successful initiative effort in a city as large and diverse as Chula Vista could set a precedent for the entire state of California, which revolutionized the state elections process over 20 years ago when voters [adopted a statewide “top-two” nonpartisan primary initiative](https://ivn.us/posts/the-real-history-californias-top-two-nonpartisan-primary-electoral-reform).

Could California voters be ready to “[reform the reform](https://ivn.us/posts/author-californias-top-two-primary-says-its-time-reform-reform)” by giving voters a chance to rank the “top five” candidates, instead of picking from one of the “top two”?

In Chula Vista, the poll suggests they certainly are.

Chula Vista, which has a large Latino population, is very different demographically from places like Alaska, Idaho, and Nevada, which makes the reform’s appeal all the more interesting.

At a fundamental level, most voters – regardless of political affiliation or background – agree with certain basic principles of democracy:

Nearly all (9-in-10) respondents in the Chula Vista poll indicated that in at least one election they felt forced to pick between the “lesser of two evils” – a sentiment [shared by voters](https://www.yahoo.com/news/lesser-two-evils-voters-could-110000997.html?guce%5Freferrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce%5Freferrer%5Fsig=AQAAABrtNbtzRhfTerGg1FnpTXjKnfMro50hj-MquJ-vHrq4V87LUUXr-%5FRC4nmy8QvP-6dk%5FuW5q5d74Pp9qVQ3ZJ7xfXX8VSsITJmgu4DoJJrcIOOg1qzaRZ9sk-hXUZ5Pqj-AnLHtbkOJrF7ANmMdqh20ywmf8A-Yml%5FzvXY5Zonj&ref=ivn.us) nationwide who feel like they have to hold their noses when they cast their ballot.

And though Chula Vista is located in a congressional district that heavily favors Democrats (D+18 in the Cook Partisan Voting Index), voters don’t have an overwhelmingly positive view of either party. In fact, even with the substantial Democratic registration advantage, the current mayor is a Republican.

The recent poll may explain this anomaly: less than 20% of voters in Chula Vista had a “very positive” view of the Republican and Democratic Parties.

Nationally, voters want More Choice. Locally, voters want More Choice. The question is: Which city will be the stepping stone for the More Choice movement in California? Will it be Chula Vista?

Chula Vista voters seem to think so.