Two Cities Expand Reach of Ranked Choice Voting

ivoted
Shawn GriffithsShawn Griffiths
Published: 13 Mar, 2023
1 min read

Voters added or expanded the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in two US cities in the same week this month:  Redondo Beach, California, and Burlington, Vermont. 

An overwhelming majority of Redondo Beach citizens voted to add their city to the 6 California cities already using RCV (Albany, Berkeley, Oakland, Palm Desert, San Francisco, and San Leandro) and Eureka, which will use RCV for the first time in 2024. 

“Instead of low-turnout, toxic, and unrepresentative runoffs, RCV will give voters more choice and more voice in a single election," stated California RCV Coalition Co-Chair 

"RCV will also save taxpayer money — a single Redondo Beach runoff in 2013 cost this 80,000-person city over $300,000! This is also a major step forward for RCV in California, as Redondo Beach becomes the first city in Southern California to vote for this better elections method.”

Burlington, Vermont already uses RCV for city council elections, and voters appear satisfied with the alternative voting method. Nearly two-thirds of the city's turnout approved the expansion of RCV to all local elections, including mayor. There are now 7 states in which the largest city uses RCV in mayoral elections.

You Might Also Like

Will the Texas Republican Party be Successful Where the Hawaiian Democratic Party Failed?
Will the Texas Republican Party be Successful Where the Hawaiian Democratic Party Failed?
The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is suing Secretary of State Jane Nelson in an effort to close the state’s primary elections to party members only – a move that the Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) tried back in 2013 in its state and failed. ...
05 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read
Supreme Court building.
Retired Attorney Takes Voting Rights Case All the Way to the Supreme Court -- By Himself
The next big voting rights case the Supreme Court of the United States could consider wasn’t filed by the ACLU, the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, or another household name when it comes to voter rights. ...
09 Sep, 2025
-
5 min read
congress flag
Poll: 82% of Americans Want Redistricting Done by Independent Commission, Not Politicians
There may be no greater indication that voters are not being listened to in the escalating redistricting war between the Republican and Democratic Parties than a new poll from NBC News that shows 8-in-10 Americans want the parties to stop....
10 Sep, 2025
-
3 min read