San Francisco held special elections for two Board of Supervisors seats this week, concurrent with California’s statewide primary election. The Board of Supervisors elections used ranked choice voting (RCV), and in both races, the appointed incumbent won the seat. 

The San Francisco Department of Elections released preliminary round-by-round RCV results on election night, alongside results for “choose-one” races. The Department has been conducting RCV elections for decades, and continues to follow best practices that set the gold standard for RCV election administration.

Recommended best practices include running the RCV tally early and often, and publishing the full ranking data before election certification so the results are externally verifiable. San Francisco consistently follows these practices, making their election administration transparent and trustworthy. 

Nationwide, 79% of places using ranked choice voting release RCV results on election night or the following day. In cases where states or cities choose to wait longer, it is a choice by election administrators.

San Francisco has used RCV for over two decades, and voters continue to be satisfied with it. For the generation of San Franciscans who have begun voting since the city adopted RCV in 2004, voting has always been synonymous with ranking. And with their Department of Elections producing fast and transparent election results, voters can feel confident that their voice is being heard and their elections are free and fair.