Ranked Choice Voting Approved for 2012 Elections

San Leandro's Interim City Manager recently reported that the California Secretary of State "has approved the use of Alameda County’s ranked choice voting system for calendar year 2012.  Ranked choice voting will be used for San Leandro’s General Municipal Election in November 2012, unless repealed by the Council.  The Council will be requested in June 2012 to take the necessary actions to call the November election."

As a candidate for Mayor, I advocated that the City Council adopt ranked choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting.  Ranked choice voting allows a candidate to receive a majority of the vote (50% + 1) without holding a separate runoff election.

My main argument was democracy works best when we have contested elections and too often in San Leandro candidates for office are unopposed.  The process of running for office in a contested election leads to better representation than an uncontested race.  The candidate without an opponent never has to meet voters, develop positions on the issues, and answer questions.   

Plus, how someone runs for office can be an accurate indication of how he or she will govern if elected.  Again, without an opponent, the voter won't get a sense of whether the candidate is organized, spends money on his or her campaign wisely, and has the support of community leaders.

By lowering the costs of campaigning for office - with the elimination of a runoff election - I believed ranked choice voting would serve as an incentive to encourage more persons to run for office.  This proved to be the case with the 2010 Mayor's race as four candidates including myself challenged Tony Santos who was seeking re-election.  The City Council supported ranked choice voting in part because over time it generates considerable savings by not having to conduct runoff elections.

Now that I have been through as a candidate a campaign in which ranked choice voting was used, I see additional advantages to this form of voting.  What candidates need to accomplish in an election under ranked choice voting is straightforward - and will lead better government.

Candidates must obtain support from all voters, whether as their first, second or third choice.  Voters that in the past may have been disadvantaged or marginalized all play a vital role in determining the outcome of the election.  As a result, voters are no longer sliced into various demographic and political groups with some entirely ignored and the favor of others exclusively sought. 

Likewise, in the past a successful candidate could focus on raising money from a few interest groups, obtain key endorsements, and spend his or her funds on mailings.  With ranked choice voting, successful candidates first and foremost need to develop a strong volunteer organization, walk the streets, knock on doors, and interact with and engage as many voters as possible.

Of course, candidates still must raise funds.  However, interest groups that insist upon loyalty from candidates to their narrow agenda in return for their monetary contributions have less influence.  Candidates should continue to create contrast between themselves and their opponents, but not in the form of negative attacks based on personality. 

Ranked choice voting is not a silver bullet for electoral reform. Other changes are necessary in San Leandro - such as campaign finance limits - but ranked choice voting worked well here last November and is a major step forward for our political system.