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# Elections could be done by ranking your choices
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/elections-could-be-done-by-ranking-your-choices/
- Published: 2003-03-14T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:48:28.000Z
- Author: Guest Author
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*San Fran to use instant runoff voting this year*

*By Daily Press staff*

Introduced by Assembly member Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), AB 1039, also known as the Local Electoral Freedom bill allows municipalities to enact alternative election methods, including Instant Runoff Voting and Proportional Representation.

Instant Runoff Voting is a method that guarantees a winner with a mandate from a majority, all within a single election. In an IRV election, voters rank their choices — first, second, third, and so on. If a voter’s first choice “loses,” or finishes last, the voter’s next choice is counted toward the total in the next round. The rounds continue until a candidate has 50 percent plus one vote. The method would ensure that runoffs are eliminated and a candidate receives a true majority.

The Green Party of California endorses the bill because it would simplify the electoral process and save dwindling tax dollars lost under the new state budget, officials say.

“With declining voter turnout, cities need options to reinvolve residents and make sure municipal elections have the broadest participation,” explains Santa Monica Mayor pro tem Kevin McKeown, who is a Green Party member. “Instant runoff voting is perhaps the most exciting alternative because it lets voters rank their choices and truly vote their consciences. IRV saves cities money, and reduces the role of big corporate contributions in politics because candidates need run only a single campaign.”

IRV would limit costs to cities for runoff elections by declaring a winner on Election Day, rather than a community bearing the costs of a runoff election a month later, officials say.

Officials also claim the bill would:

4C4,• Eliminate the “spoiler effect” of three-way candidacies. The Nader-Gore situation in 2000, as well as the Bush-Perot situation in 1992, would not be a concern under an IRV system. Many Nader voters might have made Gore their “second choice,” just as many Perot voters could have chosen the elder Bush as their No. 2 choice.

• Allow local communities more control over local elections. Voters can directly choose the best voting option for their communities.

• Promote positive campaigns and eliminates negative campaigns, since a candidate would need second-and third-choice votes. Attack ads, then, would not be wise and would probably not pay off in an IRV system.

• Increase voter turnout, as results have shown that turnout increases with more choices on the ballot, as well as increasing the likelihood that one’s vote will be decisive.

The city of San Francisco will use IRV for the November elections this year after citizens passed Proposition A in March 2002\. November races for mayor, district attorney and sheriff will be chosen by IRV, and all subsequent elections for supervisor, treasurer, city attorney, public defender and assessor will use IRV.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 14, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031403.pdf?ref=smdp.com)