Portland transition: ranked-choice voting

Learn more about ranked choice voting and the November 2024 elections at Portland.gov/Vote2024.

In the November 5, 2024 General Election, the Mayor and Auditor will be elected in city-wide contests using single-winner ranked-choice voting, while 12 Council members (three per district) will be elected using multi-winner ranked-choice voting. 

However, the voting experience won't change much. Portlanders will have a choice for three contests: Mayor, Auditor, and City Councilors from each district. The ballot will show each eligible office with corresponding candidates next to it and space for write-in options.

View full size image of A sample ranked-choice ballot with six candidates. The ballot is black and white, with six bubbles filled out completely to rank the candidates.

Portland voters will then make up to six selections for each of the three contests, ranking their choices in order of preference. 

Electing the Mayor and Auditor

Single-Winner Ranked-Choice Voting  

• Once a candidate receives more than half of the votes in a given round, that candidate is declared the winner.
• If no winner is determined in a round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and any votes for that candidate are shifted to those voters' next choice.
• A new round begins, and this continues until a winner is declared. 

Electing District Council Members

Multi-Winner Ranked-Choice Voting 

• Any candidate receiving more than 25% of the votes in a round is declared a winner.
• If any candidate has received more votes than required to win, their extra votes are shifted to those voters’ next choice.
• If no winner is determined in a round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and any votes for that candidate are shifted to those voters’ next choice.
• A new round begins, and this continues until three candidates have received at least 25% of the vote.  The winners are declared. 

View a more detailed explanation at Portland.Gov/Vote/Ranked-Choice-Voting.

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