Voice for Democracy

Newsletter of Californians for Electoral Reform

Fall 2006

Ranked Voting on the Ballot in Davis and Oakland

This fall CfER members are campaigning for not one, but two ballot measures.  A charter amendment to introduce IRV for all city elections is on the ballot in Oakland.  An advisory measure in Davis would instruct the city council to consider choice voting for that city’s at-large council.

Nationwide, the frequency of adoption campaigns is increasing.  The Davis and Oakland campaigns join two others outside California -- Minneapolis, Minnesota and Pierce County, Washington  --  on the November 7 ballot.

Oakland Measure O.  The Oakland City Council voted on July 18 to let the city's voters decide whether to use instant runoff voting (IRV) for all city elections. The council vote was 6-2.

If the measure passes, IRV will replace Oakland's existing two-round runoff system for all city offices.  In 2000, Oakland's voters approved a charter amendment that permitted the use of IRV in special elections to fill vacancies, but left adoption for this purpose up to the city council.

The 2006 charter amendment would require the use of IRV as soon as Alameda County election officials have the equipment in place to count ranked voting elections.  The county has already contracted for new voting machines from Sequoia Voting Systems, which will be upgraded for IRV by 2007.

The Oakland campaign’s impressive list of endorsers includes Member of Congress Barbara Lee (D-9), state Assembly Members Wilma Chan (D-16) and Loni Hancock (D-14), as well as current and former members of the city council, county Board of Supervisors, and school board. As of press time, no organized opposition had surfaced.

Davis Measure L.  On July 11 the Davis City Council placed a choice voting advisory measure on the November 7 ballot. The text of the measure is, "Should the City of Davis consider adopting choice voting, also known as instant  runoff or preference voting, as the system to elect City Council members?"

In the spring of 2005 a nine-member Governance Task Force appointed by the city council recommended -- with no dissents and one abstention -- that Davis use choice voting to elect its city council, and become a charter city if necessary to do so. The ballot measure this November is the direct result of that recommendation, and of continued activism by supporters of Davis Citizens for Representation (see the Summer 2005 issue of Voice for Democracy).

The city council vote was 3-2. Both council members who opposed the advisory vote are receptive to ranked voting. One disagreed with the timing and the other wanted explicit consideration of single-member districts. The Davis council is elected at large.

As in Oakland, so far there is no organized opposition.

Outside California.  In Minneapolis, the Better Ballot Campaign got a charter amendment on the ballot by a 12-1 vote of the City Council. The measure would implement ranked voting for all city offices except school board. Several boards and commissions are currently elected at large, and choice voting would be used for these offices.

In Pierce County, Washington (which includes Tacoma), Charter Amendment 3 would adopt IRV for all county offices except judges and the prosecuting attorney.  The campaign is emphasizing the fact that IRV would replace partisan primaries, which are unpopular with many voters in Washington state, especially after the federal courts invalidated the state’s traditional “blanket primary” and then invalidated the two-round runoff format meant to replace it.

Bob Richard, VP of Communications