We support using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for the City of Sacramento's local elections. (County elections still to be determined. See tabs above)

Ranked Choice Voting Gives Voters More Power &

Reduces Money in Politics!

Electing candidates who best reflect the community's values and priorities,
Positive, civil campaigns focused on the issues people care about,
Improving diversity and representation on the campaign trail,
Producing a majority winner in ONE higher turn-out election. No runoffs,
Saving money for candidates and taxpayers,
Voters vote their conscience, eliminating vote -splitting/"spoilers,
A simple upgrade to the way we vote that benefits voters and candidates

What is Ranked Choice Voting?

4 min. with Robert Reich, former Secretary of Labor

Watch 1.5 min & 2.5 min videos

1.5 minute video produced by KQED in San Francisco

RCV has been used in S.F. for 20 years in 8 languages

2.5 minute video produced by FairVote.org

How it works

RCV gives voters the freedom to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third, and so forth. If your top choice can't win, then your vote counts for your second choice, so that it isn't wasted.

This allows voters to express their true preferences, supporting more representative outcomes and fewer wasted votes. This ONE minute video from Minnesota Public Radio shows how votes are counted to achieve a majority winner in one election.

RCV would improve Sacramento elections for voters and candidates!

Problem: In our current system, most City Council races are decided in Primary Elections with abysmally low voter turnout.

Solution: We could move all Council races to the General Election, where more people vote. This would produce election outcomes that better reflect what most of the community wants.

Problem: Our current system encourages candidates to run campaigns, narrowly tailored to their "base."

Solution: RCV would motivate candidates to run positive, inclusive campaigns, reaching out to the whole community and focused on all the issues.

Problem: To win a General Election, our current system burdens city council candidates with fundraising, on average, about a quarter of a million dollars - eliminating good candidates who aren't connected to high-moneyed interests.

Solution: RCV would make candidates less reliant on fundraising, so they can spend more time talking to the voters, including a broader range of voters and not just their "base."

Problem: When a run-off happens, our current system forces candidates and their supporters to stretch their dollars and activism across two campaigns instead of one. Those dollars and volunteer-hours could be better spent elsewhere, like state or federal elections where activists are equally passionate.

Solution: RCV would create an "instant run-off," consolidating decisions in one higher turn-out general election. This saves candidates money and reduces $$$ in politics and notoriously negative campaigns.

Problem: In our current system, 2 "like-minded" candidates risk "splitting the vote" often ruining their communities chance of electing either one.

Solution: RCV elections are more fair and representative by enabling voters to indicate a "back-up choice (s) in case their #1 choice falls short. This way the voter has more power and their vote is not wasted. This also motivates candidates to reach out to all voters and helps voters get to know the candidates! More power for voters and civil campaigns focused on issues.

RCV is already used in 51 other cities, counties, and states, where voters overwhelmingly prefer RCV to "run-off systems" like Sacramento's

Better Ballot Sacramento supports using RCV for Sacramento's local elections.

We are the League of Women Voters, the California RCV Coalition, and the Sacramento Latino Democratic Club.

We are growing our coalition and working to explain the benefits of RCV.

Our goal is to have a Charter Amendment on the local ballot by 2026 to adopt RCV

for Sacramento's local elections.

Join us!