FairVote Action: Results for Ranked Choice Voting Ballot Measures in 2022
This information is current as of 10:30am on November 10. See updated results here.
FairVote Action
Ranked choice voting is having its biggest Election Day ever, with a record 10 places voting on whether to adopt it and 12 places holding RCV elections. Those include some of the nation’s most competitive congressional elections in Maine and Alaska.
Recent ranked choice voting (RCV) ballot measures have a track record of success. From 2016-2021, there were 20 measures to enact RCV on the ballot, including four statewide measures (two in Maine) and 16 measures in cities and counties. Of those, there were 18 victories. In the last 13 cities to vote on RCV in 2019-2021, the average margin of victory has been by nearly 30 percentage points.
On this page, we’ll post results from each of this year’s ranked choice voting ballot measures and key RCV elections as they come in.
Ballot Measure Results
Nevada (statewide)
Nevada is one of the nation’s most competitive states, and has thousands of independent voters who want a stronger voice in elections. That makes it the perfect fit for ranked choice voting. If it passes this year and again in 2024, Measure 3 will implement top-5 primaries and ranked choice voting general elections.
With 70% of the votes counted so far, ranked choice voting is currently ahead with 52% of the vote.
Evanston, Illinois
Ranked choice voting wins in Evanston, with about 82% voting in favor. This means Evanston will be the first city in Illinois to use RCV for all voters. Springfield, IL currently uses ranked ballots for military and overseas voters to participate in runoff elections.
Fort Collins, Colorado
Ranked choice voting won in Fort Collins with 57% in favor. Fort Collins has one of the most active local RCV movements in the country. Ranked Choice Voting for Fort Collins has worked with over 100 volunteers on phone banking, texting, door-to-door canvassing, placing lawn signs around town, and holding public educational events.
Portland, Maine
Maine’s largest city approved a measure that authorizes their city council to enact the proportional form of ranked choice voting – the gold standard for picking legislatures. The measure has 64% in favor with all but one precinct reporting, according to the Portland Press Herald.
Portland, Oregon
Measure 26-228 won in Portland, with 56% in favor so far. Portland will now be the largest American city to use the proportional form of ranked choice voting. The Portland United for Change campaign led the charge for a “Yes” vote, and the measure is backed by over 50 local organizations.
Multnomah County, Oregon
At the same time that Portland, Oregon voted in favor of adopting ranked choice voting for city elections, Multnomah County (where most of Portland is located) voted to adopt it for county elections. The measure currently has 67% support.
Ojai, California
Ranked choice voting wins in Ojai, with 57% of voters in favor so far. The Ojai Valley Democratic Club led an army of volunteers to spread the word about RCV, putting door hangers on every single household.
Seattle, Washington
Seattle’s ballot measure has two parts. The first ( asks if voters would like to change how city elections are run, and ‘no’ currently has a small lead. The second part asks, if part one passes, whether voters would prefer to use ranked choice voting or approval voting in elections. Ranked choice voting has a large lead, 74% to 26%.
Seattle’s RCV campaign has won endorsements from the League of Women Voters Seattle-King County, the King County Democrats, More Equitable Democracy Action, and the Faith Action Network, among others. It also has the backing of several Washington state legislators.
Clark County, Washington
The Clark County ballot measure is currently behind, with ‘no’ at 58%. Clark County is the fifth largest county in Washington state. The RCV campaign secured endorsements from community leaders and support from citizens.
San Juan County, Washington
The San Juan County ballot measure is currently behind. San Juan County has the first RCV ballot measure to qualify for the 2022 ballot, beginning a huge wave of RCV measures in the Pacific Northwest this year.
Results from RCV elections around the country
RCV was used in elections up and down the ballot, including some of the nation’s most competitive races to determine control of the U.S. House and Senate. Alaska made history as the first state to use RCV in general elections for Governor and state legislators (Maine uses RCV in primary elections for those offices).
High-profile races in Alaska and Maine will use RCV to determine the winner because no candidates earned a majority in the first round. In the Alaska Senate race, incumbent Lisa Murkowski and fellow Republican Kelly Tshibaka are the clear front-runners and the race will be decided by instant runoff.
For Alaska’s single House seat, a re-match of an August 2022 special election, incumbent Mary Peltola holds a strong lead. Once again, Peltola will only win if she earns enough second-choice support from supporters of the last-place candidates.
Find all preliminary results from Alaska RCV races here.
Maine voters used RCV to choose their Representative for their 2nd Congressional District. With most precincts reporting, incumbent Democrat Jared Golden leads former Representative Bruce Poliquin by four points. This race will most likely go to instant runoff if no candidate crosses 50% in the first round. [Click here for] FairVote’s projections for Maine, based on recent polling from SurveyUSA.
Voters in three cities voted using ranked ballots for the first time: Corvallis, Oregon; Albany, California; and Palm Desert, California. In Corvallis, both the mayoral race and one city council race are headed to instant runoff where results are expected later on Wednesday. In Albany and Palm Desert, voters used proportional RCV to elect at-large city councilors. In both cities, the two first-round leaders are also leading in the final-round count. Like most RCV cities, Palm Desert and Albany released full ranked choice results on election night, although results will continue to be updated as late-arriving ballots are processed.
Numerous other cities also held ranked choice voting elections also, including San Francisco where RCV has been in place since 2004, and Berkeley and Oakland that have had RCV since 2010. In these cities, RCV is the norm. Elections are administered smoothly, RCV results are released on election night, and voters are accustomed to ranking candidates on their ballots.
A few notable races include:
In the Oakland mayoral election, 10 candidates ran for the seat vacated by term-limited outgoing mayor Libby Schaaf. Loren Taylor appears to have a commanding lead in the ninth and final round, even as election administrators continue to process more ballots.
In the hotly-contested race for District Attorney in San Francisco, incumbent Brooke Jenkins is leading in the first and final rounds.
In FairVote’s home city of Takoma Park, Maryland, city councilor Talisha Searcy is leading in the three-way open-seat mayoral race.
