The Maryland General Assembly (Maryland’s state legislature) has begun its 2016 legislative session. In Montgomery County (Maryland’s most populous county and home to FairVote) Delegates to the General Assembly will consider a local bill that represents an important step forward in advancing ranked choice voting (RCV) for County elections.

This legislative session, members of the Maryland state legislature from Montgomery County will have an opportunity to start a conversation about suffrage and representation. When the 2016 session starts on January 13th, legislators will consider local bill MC 25-16, which would amend the Maryland Constitution to allow the County to expand voting rights to non-citizen residents, as well as 16 and 17 year olds, for Board of Education elections.

New Zealand uses RCV in several of its major cities, including mayor and city council of Wellington, and just held a national referendum with ranked choice voting, called “preferential voting” in the country. The government has invested tens of millions of dollars in a two-round process in which the current flag will face off against the flag that was chosen in a recent RCV election among five alternative flags.

There is a movement growing in the District of Columbia to pass the “Youth Voting Amendment Act of 2015.” Councilmember Charles Allen (Ward-6) introduced legislation to lower the voting age to 16 for local and federal elections. FairVote is excited to support local residents in this endeavor along with our allies at National Youth Rights Association, CIRCLE, Young Women’s Project, and Youth For National Change.

Election Day 2015 has come and gone, and voters in cities in six states again found that they were not limited to marking only one candidate, but had the ability to rank the candidates in order of choice. Here are seven ways RCV worked around the country this year.

Opening primary elections to include all voters should not mean closing general elections when most people vote, as it has in California and Washington and may soon in Oregon. Fortunately, an alternative proposal in Colorado is gaining momentum.

Today is the last day to show your support for ranked choice voting and FairVote Minnesota in the [email protected] contest. Vote now!

Ballots for Tuesday’s ranked choice voting (RCV) elections in four cities in the Bay Area are still being counted, but it is clear that RCV has again worked well. FairVote found that voters used the system effectively, election officials were smart to make it a true "instant runoff" and candidates of color again were elected in high numbers.

Updated! This November, ranked choice voting (RCV) elections took place in six cities in the United States. Here is a visual breakdown of each ranked choice voting round in the San Francisco (CA) elections for Mayor, District Attorney and Sheriff and in the Portland (ME) mayoral election. In Portland, Michael Brennan led in the first round and was the strongest candidate in securing votes from backers of defeated candidates, winning with 56% when matched against his strongest opponent. In San Francisco, Interim Mayor Ed Lee led in the first round and also expanded his lead during the count, securing 60% of the final round tally.

On May 20th, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower federal court ruling rejecting a legal challenge to the City of San Francisco's use of ranked choice voting (RCV, also known as instant runoff voting, or IRV). The three-judge panel emphatically dismissed the plaintiffs' arguments, including a particularly clear rejection of the claim that RCV violates the principles of one-person, one-vote or equal protection under the law.