Why Ranked Choice Voting Matters

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) at large will be used in the upcoming November 5, 2024, General Municipal Election to elect members of the Albany City Council and Albany Unified School District Board of Education. With RCV, voters can rank candidates in order of preference. You can rank as many or as few candidates as you like.

I hope that you will rank me as #1 on your ballot, giving me the best chance to win. However, if there is a candidate whom you prefer, please consider ranking me #2 or even #3. With more candidates than the three available seats all rankings are important.

RCV elections are counted in rounds. In each round, election officials check to see if any candidates have enough votes to win one of the seats.

If so, they are elected, and election officials go to the next round
If not, election officials eliminate the candidate in last place
If a voter marked the eliminated candidate as their 1st choice, their vote instantly goes to their next choice
If a voter's top-ranked candidate is elected and receives more votes than they need to win, that voter has a portion of their vote count for their next choice
This continues until all the seats are filled

KEY THINGS TO REMEMBER:

Do not vote for a candidate more than once. Only one vote per candidate will be counted.
Do not vote for more than 1 candidate in a single rank. A ballot cannot be counted if more than 1 candidate is chosen as your 1st choice or 2nd choice or third choice.
You can rank as many or as few candidates as you like as long as there is no more than 1 candidate chosen for each rank (1 oval marked per row, per column).

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

Do I have to rank all candidates?

No. You can rank as many or as few candidates as you like.

If I really want my 1st choice candidate to win, should I rank that candidate as my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice, and so on?

No. Your vote will only count once for your 1st choice. If you rank the same candidate 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on, it is the same as ranking a 1st choice and leaving your other choices blank.

Does ranking a 2nd or 3rd choice hurt my favorite candidate?

No. Ranking other candidates does not affect your 1st choice. Your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices will only be considered if your first-choice candidate is no longer in the race.

Can I give multiple candidates the same ranking?

No. If you give multiple candidates the same ranking, this is called an “overvote.” Your vote in that rank and later ranks will not be counted

Information on RCV taken from the City of Albany website, Ranked Choice Voting | City of Albany, CA (albanyca.org)

For further information: Please contact Albany City Clerk (510) 528-5710; cityclerk@albanyca.org