The Richmond City Council agreed to place a ranked choice voting ballot measure before voters this November.
The ballot measure was approved on July 2 in a 5-0 vote with Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez and Councilmember Soheila Bana absent.
The move comes after the April 30 meeting where the council provided direction after receiving a presentation—where they directed the City Attorney to draft a ballot measure for the 2024 General Election on November 5. The city also highlighted that ranked choice voting is used by cities such as San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, San Leandro, Redondo Beach and Palm Dessert.
The ballot question is as follows:
Shall the City of Richmond Charter be amended to authorize use of instant runoff voting, also known as ranked choice voting, to allow Richmond voters to rank Mayor and City Council election candidates in order of preference on their ballots, which voting system would be implemented once it becomes technically and financially feasible through the Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters and upon adoption of an implementing ordinance by the Richmond City Council?”
Currently, Richmond does not require a majority winner—instead, it’s the plurality system where the winner just needs to earn the most votes. Candidates can be elected even when the majority of voters wanted someone else. Can win the election without receiving 50%+1 of the vote.
During the presentation, Shiva Mishek, Chief of Staff for the mayor who gave the presentation, asked the council, “is there a more fair way to conduct elections in Richmond.”
Mishek explained what was proposed was Richmont voters consider Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) which allows voters to rank candidates in the order they prefer during the general election.
“This system allows voters to register preferences,” explained Mishek who added studies showed more engagement in elections.
She also provided a list of why IRV is good for Richmond.
- Always elects majority-supported candidates (candidate who obtained 50%+1)
- Gives voters more choice and voice
- Instant-runoff elections increase voter participation
- Delivers more representative & equitable outcomes, with more women & candidates of color elected
- Facilitates coalition-building and discourages negative campaigning
Mishek cautioned the council that if approved, IRV might not be in place by the 2026 election due to Contra Costa County Registrar of Voters being able to conduct the election at a reasonable cost.
According to the city attorney, the county is not set up for IRV and wanted to include language in the ballot initiative to protect the city—the county and cost which is open to interpretation.
Mishek said the upfront costs of moving to RCV would be close to $100k.
Upfront Costs
- RCV Module: $80k
- Setup/Support: $17,500
Ongoing Costs
- Licensing $70k (over 2-years/$35k per year)
- Ballot Layout: $8,750
- Ballot Costs: $15,000
- Test Deck: $3,500
- 1% manual tally: $5k
After answering a couple of questions on legal language and costs, the council voted 5-0 in favor.
Staff Report – click here
Other Ballot Initiatives:
Ballot Initiative – Richmond Election Reform Act – (petition submitted to the County Elections Department on March 20, 2024, for verification of signatures. 15,095 signatures submitted, prima facie, for verification)
- Initiative Text
- Ballot Title and Summary
- Notice of Intent to Circulate Initiative Petition Submitted by Proponent
Editors Note – Richmond Reform Act: This is a ballot initiative that was introduced and certified by the Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department in April. According to the measure, if a candidate earns 50%+1 in the Primary, they automatically win. If a candidate does not meet 50%+1, the top 2 candidates runoff in the general election—thus ensuring whoever earns a seat, has majority vote.
Part of the reason for the initiative is in the last election, Mayor Eduardo Martinez earned just 39.20% of the vote. While Councilmember Doria Robinson won her council seat with 39.62%.
Ballot Initiative – Oil Refining Business License Tax
Previous Stories:
- June 21 – Richmond Agrees to Place Refinery Business Tax on Ballot
- April 29 – Richmond to Discuss Ranked Choice Voting