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Oakland, California, Measure O, Ranked-Choice Voting Amendment (November 2006)
| Oakland Measure O | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Local charter amendments and Local elections and campaigns |
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| Status |
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| Type Referral |
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Oakland Measure O was on the ballot as a referral in Oakland on November 7, 2006. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported adopting ranked-choice voting for municipal elections in Oakland. |
A "no" vote opposed adopting ranked-choice voting for municipal elections in Oakland. |
Election results
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Oakland Measure O |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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64,093 | 68.63% | ||
| No | 29,299 | 31.37% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Measure O was as follows:
| “ | Shall the City Charter be amended to require the use of ranked choice voting, known sometimes as instant runoff voting, to elect city offices by a majority vote at a November election without holding a prior June election? | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Background
Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
| Ranked-choice voting (RCV) ballot measures | |
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| Pages: • Ranked-choice voting (RCV) • History of RCV ballot measures • Electoral systems on the ballot • Local electoral systems on the ballot • Electoral systems by state | |
- 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
Between 1965 and October 2025, 80 ranked-choice voting (RCV) local ballot measures were on the ballot in 59 jurisdictions in 19 states.
- Ballotpedia has located 72 local ballot measures to adopt RCV. Voters approved 57 (79.2%) and rejected 15 (20.8%).
- 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 policy direction.
| Direction | Total | Approved | Approved (%) | Defeated | Defeated (%) |
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| Adopt RCV | 72 | 57 | 79.2% | 15 | 20.8% |
| Repeal RCV | 8 | 4 | 50.0% | 4 | 50.0% |
| Total | 80 | 61 | 76.3% | 19 | 23.7% |
Path to the ballot
The Oakland City Council referred the charter amendment to the ballot on July 18, 2006.[1]
See also
Footnotes
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State of California Sacramento (capital) |
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