Topline:
Irvine's City Council voted Tuesday to put ranked-choice voting on the November ballot. If approved, the city could potentially switch to the system in 2028. Some council members, however, are worried about the costs.
Ranked-choice voting: Under this system, voters can rank candidates in order of preference. All top-pick votes are tallied up first. If no one wins, tallies move onto the second choices and so on. Proponents of the method say it allows for fairer outcomes and broadly-supported winners.
The context: Other cities in California, like Redondo Beach, have implemented the system. For Orange County, Irvine would be one of the first. The only other is expected to be Huntington Beach, which was recently ordered by a judge to switch.
The concern: It’s unclear how much this could cost. The council agreed on an amendment that would put a cap on estimated costs, using a percentage of the city’s budget for that year. If it exceeds that, then the city would not use the method in that election.
Read on…. to learn more about what the ballot measure would do.
Irvine voters will have an important question at the ballot box in November: Do you want ranked-choice voting?
Late Tuesday, the City Council agreed to place a measure that would switch council and mayoral elections to the system in 2028, as long as the cost stays within certain parameters. Mayor Larry Agran and council members James Mai and Mike Carroll voted no.
If passed, Irvine would be one of two Orange County cities to have the system. It comes as a judge recently ordered Huntington Beach to use the method. Several California cities, like Redondo Beach in L.A. County, have implemented ranked-choice voting in recent years.
What Irvine’s vote does
Right now, Irvine uses the system voters recognize: You cast your vote for one candidate, and if they don’t reach a certain percentage, the race heads to a runoff where you vote again months later.
In November, Irvine voters will be asked about switching to ranked-choice voting. Councilmember Kathleen Treseder, who originally introduced the measure, says this will help stop special interests from using “spoiler candidates” to take votes away from someone they don’t want to win.
“I am confident that, if we have ranked-choice voting, it’s going to improve the voice of the voters and have better outcomes,” she said.
The Cal RCV Institute, a supporter of the measure, says it allows for fairer outcomes and more broadly-supported winners. Here's a visual guide to how it works:
Under the ordinance, ranked-choice voting could happen starting in 2028 — as long as Irvine can feasibly do it technically and financially. Money was a big concern in the council vote because the city’s growing deficit is projected to reach $47 million by the end of the decade.
If voters approve the measure, Irvine would have upfront costs, like redesigning its ballots, training staff and educating voters. (Some political organizations are expected to help with that.)
It’s not clear exactly how pricey switching could be, but the first time is expected to be more than what elections cost now. Council members ultimately compromised and put a hard cap into the measure.
If costs are estimated to go over 0.23% of the city’s general fund budget (that’s $710,000 today), ranked-choice voting would not be used at the next election. The estimated cost of each subsequent election would be checked until the cost is low enough for the city to switch.
Carroll, who voted no, called out the calculation method because it came from an advocacy group. He disagreed with basing the cap on a budget that hasn’t been decided yet.
“God bless them, they’re allowed to push it, but I want to be clear that this is lawyering that has no specificity,” he said.
How ranked-choice voting works
Voters rank candidates in order of preference. All top-pick votes are tallied up first. If anyone receives more than 50%, they win. If no one does, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated.
All voters who had that person as their first-choice pick then have their second-choice candidates tallied. The process repeats until a candidate gets a majority of votes. You can learn more about it in our guide here.
The ballot measure would need a simple majority to pass — that’s 50% plus one vote — and it would be in effect until voters want to change it.
Irvine’s ballot would be designed to allow for at least five ranked choices, and you’d be able to rank write-in candidates as well.
Under the motion, preliminary vote tallies would still be released alongside results for other races.
