With the May primary election behind us, it’s time to start preparing voters for the general election on Nov. 5. This election will be the first time that Portlanders vote in their districts and use ranked-choice voting to elect three representatives per district to city council as well as a new mayor and an auditor elected citywide.
How does ranked-choice voting work?
The experience for Portland voters won’t change much – they will still receive their ballot in the mail as usual and will see choices for mayor, auditor, and city councilors from their district. The ballot will list each office up for election with corresponding candidates next to it and space for write-in options.
Portland voters will then select up to six candidates for each of the three contests, ranking their choices in order of preference.
Electing the mayor and auditor using single-winner ranked-choice voting
The mayor and auditor will be elected in a citywide contest, which means all Portlanders will rank their favorite candidates for these offices on the same ballot.
In 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 the voters’ next choice. Then, a new round begins, and these rounds continue until a winner is declared.
Watch a video that explains how single-winner ranked-choice voting works or view the presentation we use to explain this method.
Electing city councilors using multi-winner ranked-choice voting
The 12 new members of Portland City Council will be elected in what’s popularly known as a multi-winner contest. On their ballot, Portland voters will rank their favorite candidates in their district – not citywide – to elect three new city councilors per district.
Any candidate receiving more than 25% of the votesis declared a winner. If any candidate has received more votes than required to win, a portion of every vote for that candidate is shifted to the next ranking on that voter's ballot. This leaves the winning candidate with exactly 25%+1 votes.
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 these rounds continue until three candidates have received more than 25% of the vote. The votes will be tabulated by the Multnomah County Elections Division, then the Portland City Council will certify and declare the winners.
Practice ranking your vote, Portland
Now that you understand how ranked-choice voting works, it’s time to practice.
Remember to:
- Rank your choices in order of preference.
- Rank up to six options per contest.
*The ballot is available in 36 languages. Scroll down to choose a different language.
Stay tuned to find out the results of this mock election on Portland.Gov/RCV! Every two weeks, we will feature a new mock election so that every Portlander has an opportunity to practice ranking their vote ahead of the election on Nov. 5, 2024.
Share our previous mock election over social media.
More Information
Look through the content titled Frequently asked questions regarding ranked-choice voting and filling out your ballot.
Read a comic that explains ranked-choice voting or look through the rest of our printed materials.