Last November, the city of Hesperia held its first set of district elections. In a district where Latinx voters comprise half the citizen voting age population, voters spread their votes among four Latinx candidates, resulting in a white candidate winning with only 34.92 percent of the vote, while his four Latinx opponents nearly doubled his vote total.

There are elections with outcomes like this all over California. In an analysis by California Common Cause, 13 percent of winning candidates elected in single-seat elections between 2006 and 2014 were elected without majority support. Winning with less than a majority can undermine voter confidence in local government. Most voters chose someone other than the person installed in public office.

That isn’t fair representation. It’s winner-take-all, even if the winner isn’t liked by most people.

(Image Source: Time)

FairVote California expresses its condolences with the family, colleagues, and wide community of allies of Antonio Gonzalez, president of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project (SVREP), and of the William C. Velasquez Institute (WCVI), who passed away on Sunday, November 11th. 

(reposted from FairVote.org)

By Rob Richie, Pedro Hernandez

Alameda County is home to three California cities that elect city leaders with ranked choice voting. It is instructive to see  how the November election winners fared against their top challengers in the final “instant runoff” -- that is, when paired head-to-head against the runners-up. Under its current practice, Alameda County stops reporting ranked choice voting tallies once a candidate earns a majority of the vote.

Press Release: East Bay Ranked Choice Voting Results: A First Look

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 8, 2018

Contact: Pedro Hernandez at [email protected]

East Bay Ranked Choice Voting Results: A First Look
Trends Suggest Voters Using Ranked Choice Voting Well
Three in Four Oakland District 4 Voters Ranked More than One Candidate

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Early ranked choice voting (RCV) election results in the Bay Area suggest that voters understand their ranked choice voting ballots well. After analyzing the first release of the 120,544 ranked choice ballots received by the Registrar of Voters on Nov. 6, FairVote California finds that East Bay voters continue to make effective use of ranked choice voting. Many ballots await to be counted, but here is a preliminary assessment:

Press Release: San Francisco Ranked Choice Voting Results: A First Look

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 7, 2018

Contact: Pedro Hernandez at [email protected]

San Francisco Ranked Choice Voting Results: A First Look
Trends Suggest Voters Keep Using Well
75.8 percent of District 10 Voters Indicated 2-3 Different Candidates

SAN FRANCISCO -- Early ranked choice voting (RCV) election results in the Bay Area suggest that voters understand their ranked choice voting ballots well. After analyzing the first release of the 235,393 ballots received by the Department of Elections on Nov. 7, FairVote California finds that San Francisco voters continue to make effective use of ranked choice voting. Many ballots await tallying, but here is a preliminary assessment.

For the November 6, 2018 election, the voters in Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco, and San Leandro will be electing their local representatives through ranked choice voting (RCV). Here is an overview of those races.

SAN FRANCISCO – At its regular monthly meeting in June, the Democratic Party of San Francisco voted overwhelmingly (19 in favor, 4 opposed, 4 abstain) to pass a resolution that reaffirmed the local Party’s support for ranked choice voting (RCV). In its resolution, the Democratic Party praised some of the key features of RCV including:

• Preventing costly and low turnout separate runoff elections (such as the previous December runoff)
• More positive and substantive campaigning and less mudslinging in a number of races
• Candidates recognizing the need to appeal to support from a broader electorate
• Encouraging more diversity in candidates and voters
• A 38 percent increase in the election of candidates of color in all four Bay Area cities that use RCV (San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro)
• Significant increases in voter turnout

The Democratic Party resolution called RCV a “fair election system that has been a success for voters in representation in San Francisco.”

Assembled Data and Maps of the 2018 San Francisco Mayoral Election

Final Round Breed v. Leno by Precinct

About Myself

My name is Bruck Tsegaye, I am 16 years old and an upcoming Junior at Metwest High School in Oakland, California. Metwest as a community, focuses on social justice issues by spreading awareness and the freedom of walkouts. I have gained experience with social justice and activism through the organizations that I have been apart of. This is my last week as an intern with Coro and FairVote California. Both organizations have helped me gain a better understanding of leadership, networking, and how to create change within my community.

As a young Latina student I feel included in my community, but simultaneously, I know that I am not always at the table. From unequal opportunities in the education system to strange looks on my commute, the urge and push to succeed has not been discouraged, but rather increased.

San Francisco has always been a bubble. By saying this, I mean to acknowledge the difference it is to live here compared to other cities and counties. There are unequal opportunities everywhere, but something that I deeply appreciate is that we are not complicit nor do we simply ignore the issues that people in our communities are facing. San Francisco takes into account each others differences and needs, and tries to create a space that includes both of these things. An example of this is ranked choice voting (RCV).