Albany, California, Measure BB, Ranked-Choice Voting Measure (November 2020)

Albany Measure BB
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Local electoral systems
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers
List of California measuresCalifornia Proposition 13 (March)California Proposition 14California Proposition 15California Proposition 16California Proposition 17California Proposition 18California Proposition 19California Proposition 20California Proposition 21California Proposition 22California Proposition 23California Proposition 24California Proposition 25Submit

Albany Measure BB was on the ballot as a referral in Albany on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A “yes” vote supported authorizing the use of ranked choice voting for city elections for members of the city council and the board of education.

A “no” vote opposed authorizing the use of ranked choice voting for city elections for members of the city council and the board of education, thereby continuing the use of the plurality voting system.

A simple majority was required for the approval of Measure BB.

Overview

Measure BB established ranked-choice voting in Albany, California, for city council members and the Albany Unified School District Board. Under the California Election Code, ranked-choice voting is defined as "a method that allows voters to rank candidates for elected office in order of preference."

For a one-seat election under the measure, a candidate needs a simple majority of the vote (50%+1) to be declared the winner of an election. If no candidate wins a simple majority of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. People who voted for that candidate as their first choice would have their votes redistributed to their second choice. The tabulation process would continue as rounds until a candidate receives a majority of the votes to be declared the winner. For a multiple-seat election, the process would be similar, but a candidate would need more votes than the election threshold, and each candidate above the threshold would win.

Election results

Albany Measure BB
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		7,155	73.27%
No		2,610	26.73%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall a measure be adopted to change the current method of electing City Council and Board of Education Members from obtaining a plurality of votes to Ranked Choice Voting, in order to make Albany's elections more representative of the votes and preferences of its voters?

”

Impartial analysis

Albany City Attorney Malathy Subramanian wrote the following impartial analysis for Measure BB:

“ Measure “BB” was placed on the ballot by the Albany City Council and if approved by a majority of Albany voters, will amend the Albany Municipal Code to change the City’s election system as well as the Albany Unified School District’s election system from plurality at large to “Ranked Choice Voting” at large, beginning with the November 8, 2022 general election. Under the current plurality at large system, voters have a number of votes equal to the number of open seats and each candidate may be selected only once. Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates for elected office in order of preference, including write-in candidates. Voters may rank as few or as many candidates on the ballot as allowed by the equipment. In a single-seat election, voting tabulation proceeds in rounds. Each ballot is counted for the highest ranked candidate. If there are only two candidates for an office, there is only one round and the candidate with more top-ranked votes is declared the winner. If there are three or more candidates for a single office, the candidate with the fewest top-ranked votes after the first round is defeated. His or her votes are then transferred to the highest ranked continuing candidate for that office. Then, a new round of tabulation starts and rounds continue until a candidate is declared the winner. In a multiple-office election, each ballot is counted and if there is at least one candidate with more votes than the election threshold (the number of votes sufficient to be elected), each candidate above that threshold will be declared elected. The tabulation is complete if the number of elected candidates is equal to the number of available offices. Otherwise, the elected candidate with the most votes is deemed to have a number of votes equal to the election threshold in all subsequent rounds. Each ballot counted for that candidate is assigned a new transfer value, by multiplying the ballot’s current transfer value by the surplus fraction for the elected candidate, rounded down to four decimal places. Tabulations and rounds continue until all seats are filled. Measure “BB” would require the City Clerk or his or her designee to tabulate the election results, certify them, and publish a summary report of the final tabulation. In addition, the City Clerk would be required to conduct a voter education and outreach program regarding the measure and the “Ranked Choice Voting” system. A “yes” vote would establish a “Ranked Choice Voting” at large election system. A “no” vote would not establish a Ranked Choice Voting” at large election system, leaving the plurality at large election system in place. ”

Full text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Voter Choice Albany led the campaign in support of the ballot measure.

Supporters

Officials

• Albany Mayor Nick Pilch
• Albany Councilmember Peter Maass
• Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson
• Albany Unified School District Board President Kim Trutane
• Albany Unified School District Board Member Sara Hinkley
• Albany Unified School District Board Member Jacob Clark
• Albany Unified School District Board Member Brian Doss

Political Parties

• Alameda County Democratic Party

Organizations

• League of Women Voters of Berkley, Albany, and Emeryville
• Bay Rising
• Asian American Action Fund
• FairVote Action
• Sierra Club California

Opposition

Opponents

• Albany Councilmember Michael Barnes
• Albany Planning & Zoning Commissioner Doug Donaldson

Background

Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

See also: Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

The ballot measure has played a role in shaping electoral systems in the U.S., including ranked-choice voting (RCV) for state and local elections.

Since 1915, there have been more than 150 ballot measures to adopt or repeal ranked-choice voting systems. Ashtabula, Ohio, was the first jurisdiction to approve a ranked-choice voting measure in 1915.

RCV is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates on their ballots. RCV can be used for single-winner elections or multi-winner elections; when used for multi-winner elections, the system has also been called single-transferable vote or proportional representation. These terms were often used to describe multi-winner RCV before the 1970s. You can learn more about ranked-choice voting systems and policies here.

Local RCV ballot measures

See also: History of ranked-choice voting (RCV) ballot measures

Between 1965 and 2024, 79 ranked-choice voting (RCV) local ballot measures were on the ballot in 58 jurisdictions in 19 states.

• Ballotpedia has located 71 local ballot measures to adopt RCV. Voters approved 52 (78.9%) and rejected 15 (21.1%).

• There were eight local ballot measures to repeal RCV. Voters approved four (50.0%) and rejected four (50.0%).

• The year with the most local RCV ballot measures was 2022, when nine were on the ballot in nine jurisdictions. Voters approved seven of them.

• The state with the most local ballot measures related to RCV is California, where there have been 13.

The following table shows the number of ranked-choice voting measures by topic.

Local ranked-choice vote measures by topic and outcome, 1965 - April 2025
Topic	Total	Approved	Approved (%)	Defeated	Defeated (%)
Adopt RCV	72	57	79.2%	15	20.08%
Repeal RCV	8	4	50.0%	4	50.0%
Total	80	61	76.3%	19	23.7%

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in California

This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing body of Albany.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• Local election and voting laws on the ballot

• Alameda County measures

California

• November 3, 2020 measures in California
• Local ballot measures, California
• Albany, California

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

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