Ranked Choice Voting Promises To Change Elections. Here’s What To Know. Apr 12, 2023 Frustration with the polarization of our political system has helped ranked choice voting gain ground across the country over the past two decades. After the people of Redondo Beach became the third city in Southern California to adopt Ranked Choice Voting, The LAist reported on the basics of ranked choice voting, what we know about its effects on elections, and what it takes for a city or state to make the switch. Read the full article at https://laist.com/news/politics/ranked-choice-voting-promises-to-change-elections-heres-what-to-know All News & Updates

The best thing California could do is cancel the election Nov 5, 2022 "We also could implement structural changes. Instead of running two redundant sets of elections under the state’s top two system, we could use ranked choice voting with instant runoffs in June, and determine winners in just one round." -- Joe Mathews Joe Mathews is a journalist, an Irvine senior fellow at the New America Foundation, and a contributing writer at the Los Angeles Times. He is the author of The People's Machine: Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Rise of Blockbuster Democracy and coauthor of the book California Crackup: How Reform Broke the Golden State and How We Can Fix it . Read the full article at: https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/11/05/mathews-the-best-thing-california-could-do-is-cancel-the-election/ All News & Updates

Governor Newsom signs bill allowing Ranked Choice Voting in Santa Clara County Oct 7, 2023 County is now clearly authorized to upgrade to better, fairer elections Cal RCV and its coalition partners FairVote and CfER have been working together to complete a project CfER started in November 1997 to bring Ranked Choice Voting to the 2 million people of Santa Clara County. The people of Santa Clara voted for RCV, however, there have been questions raised by the county's counsel about whether the county can choose to move to RCV, even though Santa Clara County is a charter county. Assembly Bill 1227 clarifies that Santa Clara County can indeed adopt RCV as a charter county, and on October 7, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed the bill into law. The bill passed with overwhelming support in the Assembly and Senate earlier in the summer. From the AB 1227 fact sheet: PROBLEM In November 1998, Santa Clara County voters passed Measure F, with 53.9% voting in favor, to allow the use of instant runoff voting in the county when the technology became available. Instant runoff voting is another name for RCV. Although the County’s voting machines now have the capability to conduct RCV elections, the County’s Board of Supervisors would like clarity in state law that gives Santa Clara County, a charter county, control over the method of electing their county officers. SOLUTION AB 1227 allows the people’s vote to be implemented in Santa Clara County by giving authority to the County Board of Supervisors to adopt a proposal to elect county officers by RCV. https://www.gov.ca.gov/2023/10/07/governor-newsom-issues-legislative-update-10-7-23/ All News & Updates

California can never win a race to the bottom with Trump on redistricting Aug 10, 2025 First, California and its Democrats should enact proportional representation, the fairest way to divide up legislative seats. “First, California and its Democrats should enact proportional representation, the fairest way to divide up legislative seats. Right now, Republicans get about 40% of the votes for Congress and the Legislature in California, but they have less than one-quarter of the representatives. That’s because the current winner-take-all system awards each legislative district only one representative.” https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/legislature-redistricting-california-democrat-20807347.php This article is behind a paywall. All News & Updates

After fumbling last year’s elections, Alameda County’s voting office gets a new watchdog Jun 7, 2023 Cal RCV co-founder Jim Lindsay has been appointed to the Elections Commission Cal RCV worked in coalition with a number of voting rights and good government groups to advocate for Alameda County to form an Elections Commission to oversee the registrar of voters and help avoid future errors with the elections process. Thanks to Cal RCV's supporters (who turned out for public comment at multiple Board of Supervisors meetings), the coalition's efforts, and the leadership of County Supervisor Keith Carson, the commission was established in June, 2023. We're proud to be part of the effort to ensure all elections -- not just Ranked Choice elections -- are conducted correctly and transparently. Read the Oaklandside's coverage of the new commission at https://oaklandside.org/2023/06/07/new-election-commission-alameda-county-voting-ranked-choice/ All News & Updates

Baffled by the mayor’s race? Here's how to be a tactical ranked-choice voter Oct 16, 2024 Ranked-choice voting works as a powerful system that narrows a crowded field of candidates through a series of computer-assisted instant runoffs. “Here’s my suggestion: Rank as many candidates as you can of these top five. It’s important to know that your lower rankings cannot hurt your top one; you stay with your top choice provided that person is not eliminated. But if your candidate does get sent home, your vote switches to your next choice. You’re still in the race.” Read the op-ed at https://sfstandard.com/opinion/2024/10/16/how-to-be-a-tactical-ranked-choice-voter/ All News & Updates

Santa Clara County puts ranked choice voting on back burner Apr 15, 2025 Santa Clara County officials aren’t killing the idea of ranked choice voting — they just need to sort out an “existential crisis” before seismically shifting Silicon Valley elections. Read the full article at https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-puts-ranked-choice-voting-on-back-burner/ All News & Updates

The case for ranked choice voting Jun 1, 2025 As more democracies confront the limitations of outdated systems, ranked choice voting stands out as a practical reform that brings elections closer to reflecting the true will of the people. "Ranked choice voting is a better system than what is currently used by several democracies because it preserves voter intent, encourages sincere participation, and produces leaders who are more likely to reflect the majority’s will rather than the largest plurality." Read the article at https://ucsdguardian.org/2025/06/01/the-case-for-ranked-choice-voting/ All News & Updates

Playing Games With California's Top-Two Primary Mar 2, 2024 California’s top two primary system, while well-intentioned, is too easily manipulated. The March 4th primary ballot lets us select one of 27 candidates running for U.S. Senate (10 Republicans, 11 Democrats, and 6 other/none). The top two vote-getters in both U.S. and California Senate and House votes will go on to face each other in the November general election (The Presidential primary is still a party affair). Washington and Nebraska are the only other states to have this kind of top two primary, while Louisiana has its own unique variant. Californians began voting this way after we approved Proposition 14 in 2010 over the objection of leaders of all political parties. Minor party leaders didn’t want to lose the clout that comes with a line on the November ballot. The major political parties feared interference from the opposition in choosing a candidate to represent their party. But Gov. Schwarzenegger, nearing the end of his second term, was not beholden to party leaders. He promoted the top two primary as a way to reduce partisan division and promote centrist candidates: “We want to change the dysfunctional political system and we want to get rid of the paralysis and the partisan bickering.” But this system can have unintended consequences. In State Senate District 4, a rural Central Valley district sprawling between the outskirts of Fresno to the outskirts of Bakersfield, six Republicans were on the 2022 primary ballot. They split their votes, allowing two Democrats to compete for this typically Republican seat on the November ballot. It can also lead to political gamesmanship, as happened in then-Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign in 2018. Newsom ran ostensible opposition ads linking Republican John Cox with Donald Trump in an apparent effort to spur Trump supporters to the polls. (In 2022 Democrats did this in several races to promote the weaker Trump-aligned candidates and it generally paid off.) Here, though, Newsom apparently wanted to deny his Democratic rival, LA Mayor Antonio Villariagosa, the second spot on the November ballot. It worked. While Diane Feinstein faced another Democrat for the U.S. Senate, it was Newsom vs. Cox for Governor. And now it’s happening again, in the contentious battle between Adam Schiff, Katie Porter, and others for California’s open Senate seat. Schiff and his allies, aiming to pick his opponent in the general election, have spent millions strategically criticizing Steve Garvey, the leading Republican candidate, which raises his profile among Republican voters. If Garvey finishes second in the top two primary, that will knock Porter out of the race, giving Schiff an almost-certain win in November. The incentives are clear: candidates have every reason to manipulate top two and pick their general election opponent. Let’s be clear: the motives behind the top two open primary were good, and in many ways, it is better than the system it replaced. But imagine if we advanced four or five candidates from the primary to the general election and used RCV to select the winner in each single-winner race? The much larger and more representative electorate in November would have more choice – and candidates would have no incentive to try to game the system and pick their one opponent. All News & Updates

Cal RCV Strategy Meeting - October 2025 Oct 21, 2025 Guest speakers shared insights on the PRCV rollout in Portland and updates on RCV progress in California California is ready for fairer, more representative elections—and the momentum is growing. Watch Cal RCV’s October 2025 meeting for an inside look at how Los Angeles can learn from Portland, OR. Robin Ye, a Portland city council candidate and election reform leader, shares firsthand insights on Portland’s groundbreaking use of Proportional Ranked Choice Voting (PRCV). Portland’s 2024 election was a turning point: more voters saw their ballots count, more communities earned representation, and candidates built coalitions instead of divisions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3kS3R-Kj1c Cal RCV's Executive Director, Marcela Miranda-Caballero, also connects the dots back to Los Angeles. She outlines how Portland’s success strengthens our push to get PRCV on the LA ballot in the coming years. All News & Updates

Let's Talk About Improving Sacramento's Election System Feb 12, 2024 Supporting Ranked Choice Voting for Sacramento starts with raising awareness so that everybody gets to know how it works and we can build support for a 2026 ballot measure. Steve Cohn, former Sacramento City Council Member, and Paula Lee, President of the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County, penned an Op-Ed about why Sacramento needs to move to Ranked Choice Voting. Read the entire article at https://sacramento.newsreview.com/2024/02/09/essay-lets-talk-about-improving-sacramentos-election-system/ Cal RCV is proud to support www.BetterBallotSacramento.org , the local effort to bring RCV to our state capital! All News & Updates

Santa Clara County considering ranked-choice voting Jun 5, 2024 Santa Clara County is considering a fundamental change to voting, which is moving to a ranked-choice voting model. "South Bay congressman Ro Khanna said he is for it. “Sometimes having the person who can build the most consensus is important and ranked choice voting just makes that easier. So, now you can’t just talk to the far right or the far left. You’ve got to talk to everyone,” he said. Santa Clara County plans to take up the issue this summer, while Khanna said he hopes the Voter Choice Act can be addressed before the November election. Overall, ranked choice voting has been picking up momentum and is now used in 50 cities and counties in 14 states." Watch the segment at https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/santa-clara-county-considering-ranked-choice-voting/3558649/ All News & Updates