Matthew Oberstaedt

On Tuesday, Portland, Oregon’s Charter Commission voted 17 to 3 to send a referendum that includes proportional ranked choice voting (PRCV) to the November ballot. If it passes, the city would be divided into 4 geographic districts of equal population. Each district would elect 3 members to the city council using PRCV, which picks winners in accordance with the size of voting blocks in the city.

Maria Merkle

Australia’s May 21st parliamentary election received global news coverage thanks to the major success of women and candidates who prioritize climate change. The election showed the potential of ranked choice voting, called “preferential voting” in Australia, to pick leaders who accurately reflect the public will rather than the political extreme.

Celia Calhoun

Burlington, Vermont will now get to use ranked choice voting (RCV) in their city council elections. This recent change was possible thanks to support from the state legislature, which passed a bill allowing the city’s charter amendment implementing RCV to take effect. Burlington is the first city to adopt RCV this year, a decision which was overwhelmingly supported by more than ⅔ of Burlington voters in a March 2021 referendum.