How ranked-choice voting works in Portland
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Voter pamphlets have arrived, ballots will be mailed next week and that means it's time to, once again, go over the ins and outs of ranked-choice voting.
Why it matters: This will be Portland's second election using ranked-choice voting — and the first time Multnomah County uses the system.
State of play: Ranked-choice voting lets voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference, eliminating the need for separate runoff elections.
- In all races — City Council districts 3 and 4, city auditor, Multnomah County chair and District 2 commissioner — voters will be able to rank up to six in order of preference instead of selecting just a single candidate.
- For races with just one winner, a candidate will win if they receive more than 50% of first-choice votes.
- For City Council, where each district is represented by three winners, candidates will need more than 25% of the vote to secure a seat.
In the first round of vote counting, only first-choice votes count. If no candidate reaches the winning threshold, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those votes move to each voter's next-ranked choice.
- That process is repeated until a candidate or candidates have enough votes to win.
Zoom in: Ballots will be grid-style where you'll still fill in ovals for candidates.
- While you can rank up to six candidates, you don't have to.
- You'll still be able to write in candidates and choose a rank for them.
- If you make a mistake, you can correct it or request a new ballot.
Both the city and county offer detailed explainers for the voting system, available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Somali, Vietnamese and Ukrainian.
The big picture: Ranked-choice voting is commonly used in cities, counties and states throughout the country, including San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and New York City.
- Portland voters approved it in 2022 along with a shift in the city's form of government — from a five-member at-large council to a 12-member council with three councilors from each of four districts.
What's next: Ballots are set to be mailed out Wednesday.