What to expect in November’s ranked choice voting elections: Part 1

Yates Wilburn, Deb Otis | 

It’s less than two weeks until Election Day 2023! This November, voters in 21 cities – home to nearly two million people – will use ranked choice voting (RCV) to elect their leaders. Additionally, voters in three Michigan cities will vote on ballot measures to bring RCV to their elections; RCV has won 22 city ballot measures in a row. 

We’ll lay out the basics of this fall’s RCV elections below, and dive deeper into what we’re seeing in these RCV contests – potentially including groundbreaking candidate fields, cross-endorsements, and ranked endorsements – in an upcoming post. 

RCV on Election Day 2023, by the numbers

  • 21 cities will use ranked choice voting this November, across seven states (CO, DE, MA, ME, MN, NM, and UT).
  • RCV will be used in the largest cities in Maine, Minnesota, and Utah.
  • Boulder, CO will use RCV for the first time.
  • 12 cities in Utah opted to use RCV – including Salt Lake City, the largest city in the state. Note that Utah’s elections are on November 21 to accomodate the timing of a special election. In RCV cities outside Utah, Election Day is November 7.

RCV ballot initiatives in three Michigan cities 

  • East Lansing, MI.
  • Kalamazoo, MI.
  • Royal Oak, MI.

High-profile RCV contests in 2023

  • Salt Lake City, UT will use ranked choice voting to elect its mayor for the first time.
  • Las Cruces, NM could elect its first female mayor using RCV, after previously electing its first all-female city council using RCV.
  • Boulder, CO is directly electing its mayor for the first time, and will use RCV in the race – allowing voters to rank their preferences among the four-candidate field. 
  • Voters in Portland, ME will use RCV to elect their mayor in a competitive five-candidate field.
  • For the second time, New York City used RCV in its municipal primaries. Those nominees, including Exonerated Five member Yusef Salaam, will be on the ballot in “choose-one” general elections. 

Historic firsts under ranked choice voting in RCV cities

  • Salt Lake City: Elected first majority-people of color and first majority-LGBTQ+ city council.
  • Minneapolis: Elected first majority-people of color city council.
  • New York City: Elected first majority-female city council.
  • Las Cruces: Elected first all-female city council.

Full list of cities using ranked choice voting in 2023 general elections

  • Colorado:
    • Boulder (1st use).
  • Delaware:
    • Arden.
  • Maine:
    • Portland.
  • Massachusetts:
    • Cambridge.
  • Minnesota:
    • Bloomington.
    • Minneapolis.
    • Minnetonka.
    • St. Louis Park.
    • St. Paul.
  • New Mexico:
    • Las Cruces.
    • Santa Fe.
  • Utah:
    • Genola.
    • Heber.
    • Lehi.
    • Midvale.
    • Millcreek.
    • Payson.
    • Salt Lake City.
    • South Salt Lake.
    • Vineyard.
    • Woodland Hills.
  • Note: Broomfield, CO; Easthampton, MA; Kearns, UT; and Magna Township, UT are all eligible to use RCV for their 2023 general elections. None has an election with three or more candidates. 

Ranked choice voting is the fastest-growing nonpartisan voting reform in the nation, and has now grown to over 50 states, counties, and cities reaching approximately 16 million Americans across the nation.