This November, Oregon residents will consider a new way to elect political representatives.
In 2023, the Oregon Legislature referred a ballot measure for Oregon to become one of the first states in the country to adopt ranked choice voting. Here are some things voters need to know about this election method.
What is ranked choice voting?
In ranked choice voting, voters rank the candidates in terms of preference. If a candidate receives over 50% of first-place votes, they are elected. If not, the last place candidate is eliminated and the second-place votes from voters who placed the eliminated candidate first are distributed as first-place votes to the remaining contenders. This process continues until a candidate receives 50% of the vote.
Which elections does the measure apply to?
If adopted, starting in 2028, the measure would apply to primary and general elections for the offices of President of the United States, United States Senator, Representative in Congress, Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer and Attorney General.
Where has it been adopted?
Alaska and Maine are the only states that have adopted ranked choice voting. Locally, Benton County, the city of Corvallis, the city of Portland and Multnomah County have already used or adopted the election method.
Caroline Phillips, the communications director for Oregon Ranked Choice Voting, said that around 50 jurisdictions have adopted it nationwide compared to about 10 in 2016. Nevada, Idaho and Colorado voters will also consider ranked choice voting ballot measures this November.
“I think there is a lot of momentum. It’s actually been kind of an explosion,” said Blair Bobier, the co-founder of Oregon Ranked Choice Voting.
How does it impact elections?
The logic behind ranked choice voting lies with the importance of second place votes, which incentivize candidates to try to appeal to a broader swath of the voting public.
“It can make elections more civil and cooperative,” Bobier said. “I saw it at the county commission in Benton. People said ‘I would like to be your first choice, but if not can you make me your second choice?’”
Bobier added that he didn’t feel like ranked choice voting necessarily meant that more moderate candidates would have a better chance of winning.
“I don’t think that consensus equates to moderation,” he said. “The idea is to get a candidate that represents the community. If you are somewhere in, say, Eastern Oregon, where the electorate is more conservative, you should wind up with a more conservative candidate and in Portland a more liberal one. It reflects the community more accurately.”
Bobier felt that this voting system could be one possible remedy to, but not a cure for, political polarization.
Are there drawbacks?
Some have said that ranked choice voting can be confusing for voters. The Washington D.C. Democratic Party, for instance, filed a lawsuit last year to block the election method for that reason. But Bobier doesn’t think Oregon voters will have trouble understanding the process.
“My younger son started using ranked choice voting in kindergarten (to pick projects). It’s as easy as one two three. That’s the voter experience,” he said.
Phillips also noted that the measure has educational requirements associated with it to ensure that voters who speak English and five other languages understand the ballot measure prior to it coming into effect.
The Eugene-based Equal Vote Coalition has come out against ranked choice voting, citing the 2020 Alaska governor’s race where Democrat Mary Peltola defeated Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich. The organization doesn’t like that, oftentimes, some second place votes get counted while others don’t.
“In most competitive elections, there will be many voters whose ballots are not able to be counted in the deciding round, even if their votes could have made a difference. These are called ‘exhausted ballots.’ Ranked Choice Voting elections are often oversold with claims that it's safe to vote for your honest favorite, that your vote won't be wasted, and that if your favorite is eliminated, your next choice will be counted. These claims are all objectively false,” its website reads. “In short, Ranked Choice Voting ignores relevant ballot data, which can skew the results in competitive races. Some voters whose favorites can't win will have their next choice counted. Some won't. This is fundamentally unfair and we can do better!”
Another challenge could be the cost of switching over to a new system.The Idaho secretary of state said it could cost up to $40 million to implement there.
Bobier and Phillips noted that a number of counties are already needing to implement ranked choice voting systems anyway (like Clackamas and Washington because parts of Portland are in those counties, along with Multnomah County) due to already approved measures. Further, in the 2021 session, the Legislature allocated $2 million for grants to counties to modernize election office equipment and technology that may be used for this process.
“Additionally, ranked choice voting will eliminate the need for runoffs in non-partisan elections — saving time and money on taxpayer-funded elections,” the Oregon Ranked Choice Voting website reads.
The financial impact of ranked choice voting had not been determined when the Legislature referred the ballot measure.
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