July 12, 2006

Last night the Davis City Council placed a choice voting advisory measure on the November 7 ballot.

The text of the measure is, "Should the City of Davis consider adopting choice voting, also known as instant runoff or preference voting, as the system to elect City Council members?"

In the Spring of 2005 an eleven-member Governance Task Force recommended--with no dissents and one absention--to the city council that Davis use choice voting to elect its city council, and become a charter city if necessary to do so. The ballot measure this November is the direct result of that recommendation, and of continued activism by supporters of Davis Citizens for Representation (DCR).

The city council vote was 3-2. Both councilmembers who opposed the advisory vote are positive about choice voting. One disagreed with the timing and the other wanted explicit consideration of single-member districts. The Davis council is currently elected at large, as are all city councils in Marin.

The campaign in Davis is a major step forward for ranked voting in California, especially in the context of a ballot measure to adopt IRV for all city elections in Oakland.

Marin Ranked Voting's endorsement states, "Choice voting is a key step toward better local government. It improves representation by making every vote count, increases voter turnout, reduces negative campaigning, and often saves money. Marin Ranked Voting applauds the Davis Governance Task Force for putting choice voting on the city's agenda and the City Council for putting Measure L on the ballot this fall. We enthusiastically support your work to ensure its passage on November 7."

Click here for information on how you can contribute to the success of choice voting in Davis.

Last revised August 3, 2006