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Dear John, 2024 is likely to be the biggest year ever for ranked choice voting (RCV)! This November, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and at least four cities will vote on RCV, and Colorado is likely to join them. This means the number of states using RCV could triple. With so many RCV measures on the ballot, state and local reform groups need your help to make sure they pass! You don’t have to live in the city or state in question to help the campaign. Phone and text-banking can be done from anywhere, positive comments on social media help generate momentum, and if you’re up for a road trip, you can combine a little tourism and social action. Read on for information about each of this year’s RCV ballot measures – and how you can get involved. We’ll also share some of the new (and newly prominent) endorsements RCV has received from across the political spectrum, including the first RCV endorsement from a nominee for vice president! |
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Idaho Idahoans for Open Primaries turned in over 94,000 signatures for an initiative to adopt nonpartisan primaries and RCV general elections in the Gem State. The initiative has since been certified to appear on the November ballot, and beat back a legal challenge this week. It has support from many of the state’s political leaders – including former Governor Butch Otter and former Lieutenant Governor Jack Riggs. Volunteer to help the Yes on 1 campaign win! |
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Nevada In 2022, Nevadans voted in favor of adopting nonpartisan primaries and ranked choice voting general elections! Under Nevada law, since it is a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment, the measure must pass again in 2024 to take effect. Follow the Yes on 3 campaign for more information! |
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Oregon Oregon’s legislature referred a ranked choice voting measure to the November 2024 ballot – the most significant step ever taken by a state legislature to promote RCV. It will appear on the ballot as Measure 117. Oregon would use RCV within both party primaries and general elections, including for president! Oregon Attorney General candidate Dan Rayfield said that “any system that incentivizes us to restrict voices and requires people to strategically vote is broken” – which was a key reason a bipartisan group of legislators placed RCV on the ballot during Rayfield’s time as speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives. Follow Oregon Ranked Choice Voting for ways to help the campaign! |
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Colorado Organizers in Colorado submitted 213,000 signatures this summer for Initiative 310, which would bring nonpartisan primaries and RCV general elections to the Centennial State. Those signatures are now being verified by the state. If the initiative passes, Colorado – home to nearly 6 million people – would become the largest state using RCV statewide! Visit Colorado Voters First to learn more about the initiative. |
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Washington, DC Initiative 83 would bring ranked choice voting to the nation’s capital and let independents vote in the taxpayer-funded primary of their choice – strengthening democracy for DC’s nearly 700,000 residents. It would also give many of the nation’s most prominent political leaders and reporters direct experience with RCV. Make All Votes Count DC is leading the campaign for Initiative 83, which was confirmed for the ballot on August 2. Volunteer to help them win in November! |
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Oak Park and Peoria, Illinois Oak Park residents gathered signatures to put a ranked choice voting measure on the November 2024 ballot – part of a growing trend in Illinois after Evanston adopted RCV a few years ago. In Peoria, a non-binding RCV measure will be on the November 2024 ballot, asking voters if Illinois should adopt RCV for state and federal elections. The question was referred to the ballot at the annual township meeting. To support RCV in the Prairie State, visit FairVote Illinois! |
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Richmond, California In July, the Richmond City Council voted unanimously to put ranked choice voting on the November ballot. Implementing RCV would make Richmond – home to 114,000 people – the ninth California city to use this better form of elections. Richmond would join its neighbors like San Francisco and Berkeley that have used RCV to empower voters and improve representation for decades. Check out Cal RCV for the latest news on ranked choice voting in California and how to get involved! |
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Protecting the win In Alaska and Bloomington, MN, opponents of reform placed measures on the ballot to repeal ranked choice voting – even though RCV has delivered on its promises in both places. For example, 85% of Alaskans say RCV is simple, 62% say they prefer Alaska’s new election system, and a majority say their vote mattered more than in previous years. A similar repeal effort in Minnetonka, MN failed just last year – with residents voting in favor of RCV by a wider margin than when they adopted it initially. To help defeat these repeal efforts, visit Alaskans for Better Elections and FairVote Minnesota. In addition, Missouri voters are at risk of losing local control over their elections after legislators snuck an RCV prohibition into a constitutional amendment that’s primarily focused on making it illegal for non-citizens to vote. No cities in Missouri even use RCV, and non-citizens already cannot vote in the state. Learn more about this deceptive ballot measure in the Show Me State, and visit Better Ballot KC to help defeat Amendment 7. |
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Ranked choice voting endorsements In case you missed it, FairVote recently wrote about how Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, whom Vice President Kamala Harris just selected to be her running mate, has a track record of supporting RCV. Walz is a vocal supporter of the reform, having signed two bills that could advance its use in the North Star State, and speaking at a rally with our friends at FairVote Minnesota and other democracy reform groups. |
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"Ranked choice voting is one of the ways to make sure people feel like their vote is being counted, feel like it really matters. It increases participation and gives us better trust in our democracy. I fully support it." – Gov. Tim Walz |
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In addition, comedian John Oliver recently called for RCV on Last Week Tonight, and New Jersey’s largest newspaper wrote about how RCV could “avert electoral chaos” caused by the spoiler effect in the presidential election. Ranked choice voting is the nation’s fastest-growing election reform, with widespread support across the political spectrum. Recently, Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson have all endorsed RCV as well. Thank you for reading this update! Stay tuned for more news on ranked choice voting as the November elections approach. Sincerely,
Diane Silver
Advocacy Manager
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