Election Day 2023: Ranked choice voting in action

On November 7, ranked choice voting (RCV) was successfully used in 11 cities. In Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and more, RCV helped elect diverse, broadly supported leaders. 

Most jurisdictions reported results less than 24 hours after polls closed – major cities like Las Cruces, NM; Portland, ME; and Boulder, CO quickly elected mayors with majority support, while voters in cities like Houston, TX; Albuquerque, NM; and Lewiston, Maine will have to go back to the polls for runoffs in December. 

Below are highlights from RCV’s Election Day 2023. 

RCV in Boulder, Colorado

For the first time, voters in Boulder directly elected their mayor, and used RCV to do so. In a tight race between Councilmember Bob Yates and current Mayor Aaron Brockett, Brockett ultimately came out on top. Yates initially led with 44% of first-choice support, but Brockett attracted more second-choice support and finished with 52% in the RCV count. Brockett’s victory is considered a “come-from-behind” win; this is a somewhat rare but natural feature of RCV.  

About 53% of Boulder voters ranked a progressive as their first choice, splitting between Brockett and Councilmember Nicole Speer. Thanks to RCV, Speer’s supporters could vote for her without spoiling the election for Brockett. In a single-choice election, vote-splitting can lead to the majority bloc losing the election.

RCV also encourages campaign civility, since candidates benefit from being the backup choice of their opponents’ supporters. According to the Boulder Reporting Lab, “Brockett and Yates seldom criticized each other on the campaign trail.” After the election, Yates said, “The city’s in great shape. We’re in great hands with Aaron.” 

RCV in New Mexico

Santa Fe

Restaurant owner and labor organizer Alma Castro won the four-way race for Santa Fe’s 1st City Council District. Castro led with 37% of voters’ first-choices, and consolidated support to win with 52% of votes in the RCV count. Castro was this year’s youngest council candidate in Santa Fe, and beat second-place finisher Geno Zamora despite being outspent 3-to-1.

RCV encourages voters to go beyond their immediate favorite, and consider a second- or third- choice candidate. As demonstrated by Castro’s win, diverse, startup candidates can benefit from that second look.

Santa Fe County made headlines this year for its high turnout – the opposite of nearby Albuquerque, which uses single-choice voting and had low turnout. Worse still, taxpayers now have to pay for a runoff election in Albuquerque’s Council District 6 because no candidate received a majority of the vote. The Duke City could pick its officials faster and cheaper with RCV.

Las Cruces

Las Cruces used RCV to elect its mayor and two city councilors. Firefighter and city administrator Eric Enriquez won the mayoral race with 52% of votes, besting 6 other candidates. Enriquez initially trailed second-place finisher Kasandra Gandara – making this another example of a “come-from-behind” win.

RCV in Portland, Maine

Portland attracted five candidates in its open mayoral contest. Former sheriff and Maine State Representative Mark Dion won a tight race with 51% of votes. Dion led second-place finisher Andrew Zarro in each round of counting, though the final result was close. Portlanders took advantage of the opportunity to rank their ballots, including outgoing mayor Kate Snyder – who endorsed Dion as her first choice and Zarro as her second. 

After he won, Dion expressed that the campaign “was civil and it’s what this city deserves.” Dion’s opponents spoke kindly of his win: As Zarro said, “This was an amazing campaign… I’m proud of our city for showing up.” 

Contrast Portland’s experience with nearby Lewiston, Maine – where voters will return to the polls next month to participate in a costly and time-consuming runoff election.

RCV in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge used the proportional form of RCV to elect its nine city councilors and six school board members. Incumbent Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui won re-election in the first round, with the five other incumbents also securing their seats in later rounds. The two new councilors will be school board member Ayeesha Wilson and transit activist Joan Pickett. 

Five of the nine winners are women, making Cambridge’s city council majority-female. 

RCV in Minnesota

Minneapolis

Five Minneapolis city council races featured three or more candidates, and three of the races required a ranked choice count to determine a winner. 66% of voters who voted in these five districts ranked two or more candidates – demonstrating broad engagement with RCV. 

The Ward 8 race, in which Council President Andrea Jenkins won reelection, garnered considerable media interest. Jenkins faced three challengers, notably including Soren Stevenson to her left. 

Stevenson led in the first round with 45% of voters’ first choices. Once the other candidates were eliminated and backup choices were considered, Jenkins pulled ahead and won with just over 50% – just 38 votes ahead of Stevenson. Jenkins is the first Black transgender woman to be elected to office in the U.S. 78% of voters ranked multiple candidates in this race, suggesting voters understand backup choices are important in a competitive election.  

St. Louis Park

St. Louis Park voters elected 27-year old Nadia Mohamed as mayor. Mohamed faced one other competitor, and the ballot also allowed voters to rank a write-in candidate. Mohamed won 58% of first-choice support; once sworn in, she will be the first Somali-American mayor in the U.S. 

Mohamed was first elected to St. Louis Park’s city council in an RCV contest in 2019. 

St. Paul

St. Paul elected its first all-female city council, joining cities like Las Cruces, which previously elected an all-female council, and New York City, which elected its first majority-female council, under RCV. All seven women elected to the St. Paul council are under the age of 40, and six are women of color.

Research from RepresentWomen shows these cases aren’t an anomaly: RCV is a proven way to improve women’s representation in all elections, breaking down many of the barriers that prevent women from running and winning.

Minnetonka

Minnetonka used RCV for the second time last week, in elections that saw large candidate fields and high turnout. That same day, the city also held a ballot measure on whether to keep the reform in place. 

59% voted in favor of RCV – an even larger share than supported RCV when it was first adopted. This growth in support shows that when voters use RCV, they like it – and want to keep using it.

Conclusion

Election Day 2023 demonstrated much of what RCV has to offer – better representation, civil campaigns, and quick results. Later this month, 10 Utah cities will use RCV in their local elections, and we can expect to see more of its benefits in action.