San Jose may rethink voting method for special elections

San Jose is taking another look at ranked choice voting after the City Council rejected a proposal to adopt the idea in city elections four years ago.

Amid concerns over the spiraling costs from special elections, councilmembers are considering a charter amendment that would give the city the option to use ranked choice voting in special elections held to fill sudden council vacancies. The Rules and Open Government Committee advanced the proposal Wednesday. It is expected to go before the full council for review June 23, and if approved could land on the November ballot.

Ranked choice voting supporters argue the method could shave off millions of dollars from the costs of special elections by eliminating runoffs. It’s an argument that has gained added currency following last year’s packed election schedule, when some local voters were called out to the polls for as many as five special elections.

That includes the District 3 special election to replace former Councilmember Omar Torres, who vacated the seat amid a child abuse scandal. Between the race’s April primary and June runoff, the election is estimated to have cost the city $3.4 million.

Even the victor, Councilmember Anthony Tordillos, argues this process could have been more efficient.

“If (ranked choice voting) had been an option during last year’s special election, the council would have had a tool that allowed for the voters of District 3 to have their voices heard, saved the city over $1 million during a tough budget year and ensured District 3 had elected representation on the city council months earlier,” Tordillos told told San José Spotlight.

Tordillos joined with three other councilmembers — David Cohen, Rosemary Kamei and Michael Mulcahy — to author the charter amendment. In a joint memo, the councilmembers estimated that ranked choice voting could have saved the city $1.5 million over the course of the District 3 race.

Presently, under San Jose’s charter, most mayoral and council races include a runoff election. If San Jose allowed ranked choice voting, the city could instead conduct an instant runoff, eliminating the need for a costly second vote.

Under a ranked choice system, if a voters’ first choice is eliminated from the race, their vote shifts to their second choice. The process continues until a single candidate garners a majority of votes.

The proposed change, which requires voter approval because it’s a charter amendment, would only create the option for ranked choice voting. It would still be up to city leaders to make the final call on what voting method to use for any specific special council or mayoral election. The measure would not apply to regular elections.

Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez, who came in second in the District 3 runoff election against Tordillos, has also thrown her support behind the charter amendment. She argues that by the June runoff — which saw just 17% turnout — a string of recent special elections had already diminished voters’ appetite for participating in yet another round of voting.

“The outcome was that people did not vote, and I think that’s the sad truth about when we go overboard and fatigue our voters,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “I think one election would have been sufficient, and everyone could have focused on that one day.”

San Jose has considered ranked choice voting before. In 2022, a proposal to enact ranked choice voting for all city elections emerged as one of the primary recommendations from a year-long charter review process conducted by a citizen-led commission. However, councilmembers rejected the measure over concerns that introducing a new voting system could confuse voters.

Some warned that by adding complexity, the reform could backfire and actually depress turnout. Others argue ranked choice voting can muddy election outcomes, since it’s possible for the winner to not have been the first choice of a majority of voters.

In the intervening four years, however, ranked choice voting has been adopted in more places. That includes new ranked choice systems in Hawaii, Washington, D.C., Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, according to the council memo.

The councilmembers argue that positive experiences in these jurisdictions bolster the case that the transition to ranked voting can save money and increase voter participation.

Meanwhile, election reform advocates are also applauding the reemergence of the ranked choice voting debate in San Jose.

California RCV Coalition President Tom Charron, who spoke during Wednesday’s meeting, described the proposed charter amendment as an “incremental” step in the right direction.

“As a movement — reformers in the election space — we know that quite often incrementalism is a good way to get a new voting system like ranked choice voting in voters’ hands, and get them familiar with it,” Charron told San José Spotlight.

Contact Keith Menconi at [email protected] or @KeithMenconi on X.