Santa Clara County could be one step closer to adopting ranked choice voting, thanks to a new state bill from two Silicon Valley legislators, Assemblymembers Evan Low (D-San Jose) and Alex Lee (D-San Jose) per The Mercury News. Assembly Bill 1227 has already cleared the assembly and is now headed to the state senate, and if passed, could allow the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors to decide whether to adopt ranked choice voting for county elections. The question arises, what impact would ranked choice voting have on local elections and how would it benefit voters?
Ranked choice voting, which has been used in recent years in San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, and San Leandro, is a voting method that allows voters to rank their preferred candidates. The winner is determined by a simple majority, and if one isn't reached, the votes are redistributed based on the rankings until a candidate reaches more than 50%. Proponents argue that ranked choice voting eliminates the need for multiple elections, helps promote democracy, and reduces the likelihood of negative campaigning, as candidates might be less likely to attack their opponents when they can be the second choice on the ballot. However, some critics claim that the method is too complicated, could potentially disenfranchise voters, and might delay election results.
California law currently dictates that only cities, not counties, can change their voting methods on their own, which is why state legislation is needed before Santa Clara County could proceed with the change. Other cities, such as Eureka, are already planning to adopt ranked choice voting for the 2024 election. And locally, Santa Clara County itself has shown interest in adopting the method for some time. In 1998, voters passed Measure F, which stated that nothing in the county charter would prohibit the supervisors from making the switch to ranked choice voting. However, the technology to implement the method was not available at the time, but in 2019, the county purchased new machines that would make ranked choice voting possible.
One of the authors of AB 1227, Assemblymember Alex Lee, called ranked choice voting a "common sense approach" and stated, "In an ideal world where people have enough information and the playing field is pretty even, ranked choice voting provides a really great atmosphere for people to pick and choose and rank their favorites and also leads to less zero summing when it comes to whether it has to be the lesser of two evils." Assemblymember Evan Low added that switching to ranked choice voting will help limit the amount of "negative campaigning and mudslinging" during election season. Their bill could provide an opportunity for Santa Clara County to take a leadership role in advocating for a more democratic voting method. However, despite the potential advantages of ranked choice voting, there have been instances of controversy surrounding its implementation. In Alameda County, for example, the Registrar of Voters incorrectly tabulated the ranked choice voting results in an Oakland school board election last year.
As Santa Clara County considers adopting ranked choice voting, the wider implications of this voting method will continue to be debated both in California and across the United States. If AB 1227 passes and Gov. Gavin Newsom gives his approval, it would then be up to the county's board of supervisors to decide whether to make the switch, potentially paving the way for other counties to adopt similar measures.
