Ranked Choice Voting
In the upcoming November 2024 election, Portland’s switching things up with four new Portland City Council districts, three seats per district, and ranked choice voting (RCV) to choose who will sit on City Council. Instead of picking just one candidate and crossing your fingers, you’ll get to rank up to six candidates for each district. That means if your top pick doesn’t make the cut, your vote can still count toward your next choice. It’s like giving your vote a backup plan!
Ranked Choice Voting isn’t just about making elections more interesting—it’s about making them more fair, too. No more primary elections; you’ll be casting your vote during general elections when turnout is higher and everyone’s preferences get a better shot at being heard. More choice, more voice!
And speaking of choices—when you fill out your ranked choice ballot, make Bob your first pick. Your number one vote can help bring more roses and fewer thorns to Portland.
First: Find your district
To get started, look up your district. If you’re unsure, you can type your address into portlandmaps.com and it will tell you which district you are in.
Speaking of maps, the Oregonian and OPB have teamed up with a map that gives you a few details about your district and a list of all the candidates that are running. Great resource!
Next, know what to expect
There are a lot of great videos that give you an overview of the process. We suggest you watch all of them because it’s a lot to take in.
Multnomah County has a very to the point video that explains a lot about how to vote. Watch it here.
If that one seems a little dry, check out this adorable felt doll version from Rose City Reform. Click here to watch. Got a sweet tooth? The Oregonian cast their votes for donuts in their explainer video here.
Now practice voting
There are lots of ways to practice voting before your ballots come.
You can practice Ranked Choice Voting with the City of Portland’s mock ballot that uses methods of transportation.
Finally, how do the votes get counted?
Here’s how it works: in each race, the first-choice votes are counted. If any candidate gets 25% + 1 vote, they’re in! But since they only need 25% +1, the surplus percentage is transferred to their voters’ second choices. But if only one gets across the finish line or nobody wins a majority right off the bat, the candidate with the least votes gets eliminated, and those voters’ next choice takes over. This keeps going until someone we’ve got all three winners.
The City of Portland has some easy charts to show you how the votes are redistributed in RCV. Find out more here.