July 21, 2006

The Oakland City Council voted on July 18 to let the city's voters decide whether to use instant runoff voting (IRV) for all city elections. The council vote was 6-2.

If the measure on the November 7 ballot passes, IRV will replace Oakland's existing two-round runoff system for all city offices.

In 2000, Oakland's voters approved a charter amendment that permitted the use of IRV in special elections to fill vacancies, but left adoption for this purpose up to the city council. The 2006 charter amendment would require the use of IRV as soon as Alameda County election officials have the equipment in place to count ranked voting elections.

The Oakland campaign is a milestone event for ranked voting advocates in California, especially since the multi-winner sibling of IRV, choice voting, is on the ballot in Davis.

Marin Ranked Voting's endorsement states, "Momentum for IRV is building rapidly and Oakland (along with Davis, Minneapolis and Pierce County, Washington) is leading the way this fall. IRV frees voters from the spoiler effect, increases voter turnout, reduces negative campaigning, and eliminates costly runoff elections. Marin Ranked Voting applauds the Oakland City Council for putting IRV on the ballot. We enthusiastically support your work to ensure its adoption on November 7."

Click here for information on how you can contribute to the success of IRV in Oakland.

Last revised August 3, 2006