In 2022, nearly 83% of voters in Evanston, Illinois, approved a city referendum to adopt ranked choice voting. The referendum stated that the first use of the new voting method would be during the city's consolidated elections in April 2025.
ranked choice voting
The recount in Alaska over Ballot Measure 2 is complete. The state's Republican Party requested it after voters rejected the initiative and chose to keep their nonpartisan election system by a narrow margin. But as predicted on IVN, this margin wasn't narrow enough for the results to change.
The research and data group, FM3 Research, polled voters in Portland, Oregon, to determine how well they understood ranked choice voting (RCV) after the city's first use of it, including the unique use of proportional RCV for city council seats.
The Alaska election results have officially been certified and despite calls from Measure 2 supporters for a recount of the ballot initiative's loss by 664 votes, the Alaska Division of Elections re-checked its work before certification and found worse news for them.
Two weeks after Election Day, Alaska voters finally know the fate of their election system. The choice before them was keep the nonpartisan Top 4 primary system with ranked choice voting in the general election or go back to partisan control over elections.
Ranked choice voting is making inroads in Virginia. First, it was adopted and used in Arlington County. Then, the Charlottesville City Council approved its use. Next door, Washington DC voters overwhelmingly said "Yes" to the reform in 2024.
This year, Portland, Oregon used ranked choice voting (RCV) for the first time after voters approved the reform in 2022. Portlanders used RCV to elect all city officials – including a new mayor, and twelve new councilmembers from four 3-member districts using the proportional form of RCV. The reform is already proving its ability to provide better representation and promote effective governance.
Voters across the US had a chance to change the political landscape in the country forever. In 2024, however, the two major parties were mostly successful at stopping reform to the electoral status quo.
The first victory for election reform Tuesday happened in Washington, DC, where voters passed Initiative 83 to open primaries to independent voters and implement ranked choice voting.
Colorado is used to being a trailblazer in election reform, from vote-by-mail to independent redistricting. However, state voters passed on an opportunity to give voters more choice in taxpayer-funded elections in 2024.