Redondo Beach, California holds first ranked choice voting election
Note: This article was last updated on March 26 after Redondo Beach, California released the cast vote record from its 2025 ranked choice voting election.
On March 4, Redondo Beach, California held the first ranked choice voting (RCV) election in Los Angeles County. Ranked choice voting delivered a majority winner without a costly runoff election two months later, and it ensured more votes counted for candidates who had a chance to win. Voters reported broad satisfaction with RCV, with 83% of voters finding ranking candidates easy and 61% favoring it compared to just 25% opposed.
In 2023, Redondo Beach voters passed a ballot measure to adopt RCV for mayoral, city council, and city attorney elections. This year, RCV came into play in the races for mayor and City Council District 1, which both had three or more candidates running.
In the five-candidate race for mayor, incumbent James Light received the most first-support, with 44%. Under Redondo Beach’s old system, Light and City Councilor Nils Nehrenheim (29%) would have advanced to a runoff election in May.
With RCV, the city instead conducted an “instant runoff,” using voter rankings to identify a majority winner in a single election. A 2013 Redondo Beach runoff cost the city over $300,000. RCV also allows the new elected officials to assume office sooner; the new mayoral term will begin on April 1.
Light won the race for mayor in the 4th round of the RCV count, with 59% of voters preferring him to runner-up Nehrenheim. With RCV, voters were able to support their favorite candidate without worrying about “wasting” their vote on someone who wasn’t a frontrunner. Overall, 90% of voters expressed a preference between Light and Nehrenheim – including thousands of voters who ranked one of the three other candidates as their first choice. 68% of voters ranked Light in their top three choices, representing strong consensus support – and showing how RCV can deliver a strong mandate – for the winner.
In the mayoral election, 73% of all voters ranked at least one backup choice. 82% of all Ginsburg, Joan Irvine, and Georgette Gantner voters ranked at least one backup choice.
Redondo Beach mayoral election
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | |
| James Light | 44.1% (4,882) | 46.0% (5,016) | 48.8% (5,203) | 59.4% (5,928) |
| Nils Nehrenheim | 29.2% (3,236) | 31.0% (3,384) | 33.3% (3,546) | 40.6% (4,053) |
| Joan Irvine | 10.8% (1,194) | 13.6% (1,486) | 17.9% (1,908) | Eliminated |
| Georgette Gantner | 8.3% (915) | 9.3% (1017) | Eliminated | Eliminated |
| Jeff Ginsburg | 7.6% (843) | Eliminated | Eliminated | Eliminated |
In City Council District 1, Brad Waller, Rolf Strutzenberg, and Darin King ran for an open seat vacated by Nils Nehrenheim. In both 2013 and 2017, open-seat contests for this seat went to costly May runoffs.
In Redondo Beach, the instant runoff narrowed to candidates Waller and Strutzenberg. Voters who ranked Darin King first could still influence the outcome by ranking a second choice. 76% of voters who ranked King first did so – maximizing the impact of their vote by weighing in between the two strongest candidates.
City Council District 1 election
| Round 1 | Round 2 | |
| Brad Waller | 48.6% (1,245) | 52.1% (1,313) |
| Rolf Strutzenberg | 44.3% (1,132) | 47.9% (1,204) |
| Darin King | 7.2% (185) | Eliminated |
Redondo Beach is the first city in Los Angeles County to hold a ranked choice voting election, and the sixth city in California to implement RCV – with Eureka expected to be the next.
Visit CalRCV today to help bring ranked choice voting to your California community, or find an RCV group in your state if you live elsewhere in the U.S.
