How Better Ballot Design and Voter Education Improved Oakland’s Ranked-Choice Voting Elections
Oct 1, 2025
1 min read
A study in the Journal of Election Administration, Research & Practice examines how Oakland fixed the higher-than-usual ballot error rate in its November 2024 ranked choice election. After improvements to ballot design and voter guidance, Oakland's April 2025 special election ran smoothly, and the overvote rate fell to under a quarter of the 2024 level. In that election, 99.6% of voters cast valid ballots.
