Ranked choice voting wins on Election Day 2023
From Michigan and Minnesota, to Colorado and Massachusetts, ranked choice voting came out on top on Election Day 2023. Voters across the U.S. affirmed their choice for better campaigns and better government under a ranked choice voting system.
Ranked choice voting on the ballot
In Michigan, three cities voted to adopt ranked choice voting, with 71% of Kalamazoo voters, 52% of East Lansing voters, and 51% of Royal Oak voters embracing the fastest-growing nonpartisan voting reform. They join Ann Arbor and Ferndale in voting to allow ranked choice voting as an option in local elections.
In Minnetonka, Minnesota, voters reaffirmed their support for ranked choice voting. This year, 59% of voters elected to keep ranked choice voting after first adopting the measure in 2020 with just 55% of the vote.
And in Easthampton, Massachusetts, ranked choice voting was expanded to multi-winner city council elections with 62% support. Easthampton currently uses ranked choice voting for mayor and single-winner council seats.
Ranked choice voting in action
Ranked choice voting not only won on the ballot this election, it was also used successfully in 11 cities across 6 states. The largest cities in Maine and Minnesota used ranked choice voting in their elections, and Boulder, Colorado used ranked choice voting for the first time in the city’s first direct mayoral election.
From its use in just 10 cities in 2016 to approximately 50 jurisdictions now, including the states of Alaska and Maine, ranked choice voting continues to grow and gain in popularity. With this year’s ballot wins, ranked choice voting has now won 27 city ballot measures in a row.
With Virginia already on the list of ranked choice voting success, UpVote Virginia is working to expand the existing local option to allow the use of ranked choice voting in additional offices, such as mayor and school board. We are also working to pass a bill to allow political parties the option to use ranked choice voting in any primary.
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