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Leonard Leo and other far-right power players are attacking a bipartisan election reform. After the success of RCV in Alaska and Maine, interest in the reform has grown around the country. Nevada and Oregon will have referendums on RCV this year, and dozens of cities are considering adopting it. Bills to implement RCV have bipartisan support in Georgia, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and dozens of cities are already using RCV in local elections. But the movement for RCV is running into headwinds around the country, with five states banning any city or county government from adopting RCV, and at least six other states considering similar measures. The source of this opposition is not surprising: the same folks who have sown distrust in the 2020 presidential election are undermining RCV. Groups with Orwellian names like Honest Elections Project (HEP) and Election Integrity Network (EIN) are at the forefront of the backlash. HEP was founded by Leonard Leo, the largely unknown man behind the U.S. judiciary’s shift to the right. HEP Director Jason Snead authored “The Case Against Ranked-Choice Voting: How George Soros and Other Billionaires Use a ‘Dark Money’ Empire to Transform America.” In February, HEP testified against Wisconsin’s bipartisan RCV bill in committee hearings. EIN was also busy in Wisconsin, distributing anti-RCV talking points to MAGA activists. EIN activists have played key roles in driving grassroots opposition to bipartisan pro-RCV measures in Virginia, Georgia, and Illinois. Other right-wing organizations are also involved in the anti-RCV movement. The Heritage Foundation is holding grassroots events in Oklahoma, Georgia, and Arizona, and urging activists to pressure lawmakers to oppose RCV in Texas, Utah, and Georgia. Last year the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) put out a model bill banning RCV for state legislatures to copy. Turning Point Action got the Republican National Committee to adopt an anti-RCV resolution. Why have these groups all decided to attack RCV? Publicly they will criticize RCV because it is favored by progressive donors, particularly George Soros. They also claim that the process is so confusing that voters are disenfranchised: “RCV makes it harder to vote, risks longer lines at the polls, and discourages participation,” HEP’s Snead told Rolling Stone. In fact, post-election polls show that voters overwhelmingly understand and like the system. Privately, these right-wing leaders acknowledge that ranked choice voting threatens the MAGA political project. In June of 2023, Snead told Real America’s Voice network, “I think that their calculus is you change the dynamic of elections … make it harder for conservatives to get elected without that party primary and then of course you displace the parties themselves.” He clarified that he was referring to “outside and independent expenditure groups funded by folks like George Soros.” Arizona Republican Party Chair Gina Swoboda told a party event in August 2023 that “the entire purpose of ranked choice voting is … force the candidates to run for the middle like they are in a general election, and then they will not take the positions that we need them to commit to.” Alaska’s 2022 elections, the first since voters narrowly adopted RCV in 2020, confirm these fears. In the Senate race, moderate Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski was re-elected despite Trump’s attempt to punish her for supporting his impeachment after January 6. Murkowski prevailed over the Trump-backed challenger by winning the second-round votes of the 10% who voted Democratic in the first round. Alaskans also elected Democrat Mary Peltola in an August special election and again in November when she gained enough second-round votes from voters who supported moderate Republican Nick Begich, who finished third to defeat MAGA candidate Sarah Palin. In 2022, 91% of Americans lived in heavily partisan districts, where the difference between the winner and losing party was more than 10%. Under this gerrymandered system, MAGA Republicans have only to win a plurality in the primary election before coasting through the general election. For example, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) won 36% percent of the vote in the 2016 primary and hasn’t faced a serious primary challenger since. (The same phenomenon applies to the left end of the political spectrum.) “It’s not really an issue of ‘honest elections’ or ‘election integrity,’” explains Rick Hasen, the Director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA’s Law School. “It’s a debate about the best way to translate voters’ preferences into election winners…. the reason for the fear of ranked choice voting is that it could help elect more Republican moderates rather than more extreme Republicans.” This article was adapted from this piece at Documented.

In an LA Times op-ed, Cal RCV and FairVote explain how Rep. Adam Schiff spent heavily to boost Republican Steve Garvey in the 2024 Senate primary, knocking fellow Democrats Katie Porter and Barbara Lee out of the November race. It is a classic example of top-two gamesmanship that ranked choice voting would discourage. RCV is a tested, nonpartisan reform that better reflects what a majority of voters actually want. Read the full piece at the LA Times for more details.

Former Sacramento City Councilmember Steve Cohn and League of Women Voters of Sacramento County President Paula Lee make the case for ranked choice voting in Sacramento's city elections. They argue the current runoff system invites negative campaigning, while RCV rewards candidates who seek second-choice support and focus on issues. Adopting RCV would end costly double campaigns, boost turnout, and settle races in November. Read the full piece at the Sacramento News & Review for more details.

A new EMC Research poll finds that 64% of likely 2024 voters in Santa Clara County support using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in countywide and local elections. This represents significant growth in support since 54% of county voters voted for RCV in county elections by approving Measure F in 1998. Read the poll memo Even before hearing any explanation of Ranked Choice Voting, 56% of poll respondents supported using RCV to elect countywide officials like the Board of Supervisors. After hearing a brief explanation of how RCV works, that support increased to 64%. Large majorities of voters in Mountain View (70%), San Jose (63%), and Sunnyvale (70%) also want to use RCV to elect their cities’ officials. “Voters from across Santa Clara County want ranked choice voting because they know it will give them better representation, less toxic politics, and more choices on the ballot,” said California RCV Institute Executive Director Marcela Miranda-Caballero. “This poll proves that support for ranked choice voting has only grown in Santa Clara County since residents here first voted to adopt it 25 years ago. Ranked choice voting is already making elections better in several cities across California. The Board of Supervisors should listen to the people and bring RCV to Santa Clara County.” One of the most notable benefits of RCV is increased representation of historically underrepresented communities. Notably, 68% of poll respondents who request a Spanish-language ballot when they vote said they support the use of RCV in countywide elections before hearing an explanation. That support jumps to 73% after respondents hear the explanation. Ranked choice voting (RCV) is a simple reform that can lead to significant benefits for our cities, state, and country. RCV lets you rank candidates 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on instead of being forced to choose just one candidate. If your first choice can’t win, your vote automatically counts for your second choice. It's a commonsense upgrade from the broken single-choice voting approach that favors entrenched interests and underlies so much political dysfunction. Read EMC Research's poll memo for more details. The poll was conducted online and by phone from Dec 7-17, 2023 and included 400 likely voters countywide. The overall margin of error is 4.9 percentage points.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) has measurable positive impacts for voters and candidates of color, a new FairVote report finds. The report examines 448 ranked choice voting elections across 20 years – a testament to the staggering growth this movement has seen over the last two decades. Key findings from the report include: Candidates of color benefit from the RCV counting process, gaining more support as lower-performing candidates are eliminated. RCV allows several candidates of color to run in the same race without “splitting the vote.” Voters of color tend to rank more candidates than White voters. Naturalized citizens and permanent residents support ranked choice voting and proportional representation. These findings build on research and election data showing that candidates of color are more likely to win RCV contests, and several previous surveys showing high support for RCV among Black and Latino voters. Watch a 5 min overview of the research findings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZhSPqfxd0c

New FairVote research finds that turnout in Sacramento's primaries is much lower than in its general elections, and the primary electorate underrepresents young voters and renters. FairVote says Sacramento could fix this by consolidating its elections into a single high-turnout contest with ranked choice voting, as other California cities have. Better Ballot Sacramento is leading the local effort. Read the full research at FairVote, and learn more at Better Ballot Sacramento.

This Press-Telegram op-ed argues that California should build on its open primary rather than retreat from it. The author calls for advancing more than two candidates to the general election and choosing the winner by instant runoff, also known as ranked choice voting, so voters have more options in November. Read the full piece at the Press-Telegram for more details.

Guess what? We're on fire! 🚀 Another year, another set of wins for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)! Our friends in Michigan - Kalamazoo, East Lansing, and Royal Oak - just shouted a resounding "HECK YEAH!" to RCV this past Tuesday. Those aren't just wins; they're victory dances waiting to happen! The party doesn't stop there. The people of Minnetonka, MN rejected an effort to repeal RCV in their city, and Easthampton, MA voted to expand RCV to multi-winner city council elections! They're waving their RCV flags high, showing that this voting upgrade is not just a trend; it's a nationwide movement. And check this out - Boulder, CO just made history! They used RCV for the first time, showing that RCV is a game-changer for everyone, everywhere. For those of us who want better elections, it's not just about winning; it's about everyone getting a seat at the table. It's about making sure all voices, from all backgrounds, are heard and celebrated. That's what RCV brings to the table. Can you feel the excitement? RCV is spreading like wildfire, and it's the fastest-growing nonpartisan reform in the nation. Plus, it's on a winning streak - 27 consecutive city ballot measures and counting! Now, let's talk California. We're on a mission to bring more choice and more power to every California voter, and guess what? 2024 is going to be huge for the movement! We're working to get RCV on the ballot in cities across the state - and then get on the ballot for statewide elections! So, fellow RCV enthusiasts, let's turn up the volume on this movement! Share the excitement, be the change, and let's make sure RCV is not just a buzzword but a reality in our California communities. Sign the Petition Supporting Ranked Choice Voting in California

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/

BeyondChron editor Randy Shaw defends San Francisco's ranked choice voting against what he calls unfair criticism. He notes that RCV replaced low-turnout runoffs that were disproportionately decided by white homeowners, and that it saves cities the cost of those runoffs. Shaw argues that results critics call confusing, like Oakland's 2022 mayor's race, really reflect campaigns that failed to win second-choice support. Read the full piece at BeyondChron for more details.

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 September 5, 2023, the bill passed the California Senate, 31-7. The bill passed the Assembly earlier in the year with bipartisan support: 57 Democrats and 10 Republicans in favor, 0 against, 13 no vote recorded. 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.

A July 2023 FM3 Research poll of 826 likely Los Angeles voters found 71% support ranked choice voting to elect City officials — a finding that signals broad, durable appetite for election reform in LA.​ The survey, conducted July 15–23, 2023, tested RCV both with a simple description ("giving voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference") and a more detailed explanation of how votes transfer when a top candidate doesn't win a majority. Support held at 71% in both cases, indicating the concept resonates regardless of how much detail voters receive.​ RCV support was strong across virtually every demographic group tested:​ By age: 75% (18–29), 69% (30–39), 69% (40–49), 65% (40–64), 70% (65+) By gender: 73% of women, 68% of men By race/ethnicity: 70% of white voters, 74% of Latino voters, 68% of African American voters, 73% of Asian/Pacific Islander voters By geography: Support ranged from 63% (Downtown) to 78% (East LA) across LA City zones The poll also tested a hypothetical City Charter reform ballot measure that bundled RCV with campaign finance reforms. That version drew 67% initial support among likely voters — and jumped to 71% among likely primary voters. The competing version of the measure (without RCV, but with a lobbying restriction) earned slightly higher support at 70%, suggesting RCV does not meaningfully drag down a broader reform package.​ RCV ranked as the second most popular individual reform tested — behind independent redistricting (78%) and ahead of Council expansion (59%).​ Read the full documents: FM3 Poll Memo – Key Findings FM3 Full Poll Results Presentation Watch the RCV poll results discussion (starting at the 21:51 mark)