Portland, Oregon, Measure 26-228, Changes to City Governance and Ranked-Choice Voting Measure (November 2022)

Portland Measure 26-228
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic City governance and Local elections and campaigns
Status Approved
Type Referral

Portland Measure 26-228 was on the ballot as a referral in Portland on November 8, 2022. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported this measure to: hire a city administrator, supervised by the mayor, to manage daily operations of the city; expand the city council to 12 members (three from each district); implement ranked-choice voting for city elections; and authorize Independent Salary Commission to set elected officials' salaries.

A "no" vote opposed this measure to change the city's governance structure and implement ranked-choice voting for city elections.

A simple majority was required for the approval of Measure 26-228.

Measure design

Measure 26-228 made three changes to the City Charter.

The first made changes to Portland’s city government structure. The measure provided a City Administrator, supervised by the mayor, to manage daily operations, including hiring, firing, and supervising bureau directors. The mayor was no longer a member of the City Council, but under this measure, they could introduce laws and break tie votes on non-emergency ordinances. The measure provided that salaries of elected officials would be decided by an Independent Salary Commission.

The second expanded the City Council to twelve members. The city was divided into four geographic districts created by the Independent District Commission with three councilors representing each district. Under this measure, the district boundary lines would be adjusted every decade beginning in 2030 based on census population data.

The third established ranked-choice voting that allowed voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Under this measure, primary elections were eliminated. The process for tallying ballots depended on the office. For Mayor and Auditor, if no candidate received over 50% of the votes in the first round, the candidate receiving fewest votes would be eliminated, and that candidate’s votes would be transferred to each voter’s next-highest ranked candidate. The process would then continue until a candidate exceeds a 50% majority. For City Council, candidates would win when they exceeded a threshold set by the number of available positions.

This measure provided that ballots would be counted in rounds. Any candidate exceeding the threshold would be elected, and that candidate's votes above the threshold would be proportionally transferred to other candidates based on voter preference. The candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round would be eliminated, and that candidate’s votes would be transferred to other candidates based on voters’ preferences. The process would then continue for as many rounds as necessary until all positions are filled.

Election results

Portland Measure 26-228
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		164,076	58.10%
No		118,336	41.90%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Measure 26-228 was as follows:

“

Should Administrator manage city government, 12-member Council (three from each district) make laws, voters elect officials using ranked choice process?

”

Ballot summary

The ballot summary for this measure was:

“

Charter Commission's proposal to change structure of Portland city government. Currently, City Council includes one Mayor and four Commissioners elected citywide. Council makes laws; Mayor and Commissioners directly manage bureaus. Voters choose one candidate per office in citywide primary elections with runoff elections if necessary. If measure is approved: • City Administrator, supervised by Mayor, manages daily operations, including hiring, firing, and supervising bureau directors • Council expanded to twelve members; City divided into four geographic districts created by Independent District Commission; three Councilors elected to represent each district • Council makes laws. Mayor may introduce laws, vote to break ties on non-emergency ordinances • Independent Salary Commission sets elected officials' salaries • City elections use "ranked choice voting" process that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference instead of casting a single vote; primary elections eliminated. For citywide offices (Mayor, Auditor), votes tallied in rounds until single candidate receives majority. For Councilors, votes tallied and reallocated in rounds until three candidates in each district meet election threshold. • Cost estimate: $900,000 to $8.7 million annually • Includes other provisions

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Portlanders for Charter Reform led the campaign in support of the measure. Portlanders for Charter Reform was supported by Building Power for Communities of Color.

Supporters

Organizations

• Portland United for Change

Arguments

• Raahi Reddy, charter commissioner: “What we risk by not moving forward is to continue along this dysfunctional path that we have been on … in the big picture and the grand scheme of things, I think you’re going to see we are going to be a better city because of these reforms.”
• Melanie Billings-Yun, charter commissioner: “There was a huge demand for district representation, especially from the east side,” Billings-Yun said. “People 82nd and above felt that they had all of these issues and no one cared. People were caring about the trash in Old Town, but no one cared about the huge amount of trash they were experiencing, and the potholes and the street racing.”

Opposition

Partnership for Common Sense Government and the Ulysses PAC were two organizations in opposition to the measure.

Opponents

Officials

• State Rep. Rob Nosse (D)
• Commissioner Mingus Mapps (Nonpartisan)
• Commissioner Vadim Mozyrsky (Nonpartisan)

Organizations

• Portland Business Alliance

Arguments

• State Rep. Rob Nosse (D-42): “It does not read like the candidates who get the most votes win. I think that is a recipe for suspicion and mistrust. How votes are counted and who wins must be straightforward, especially in a rank choice system.”
• Kathleen Saadat, civil rights leader: “There’s not much that addresses the functions of government and where the complaints are, and how one resolves those problems that exist in the interaction between government and the people who are governed … I want to see more of that design for improved government regardless. If we send everyone into a room where it’s not functional, it’s no more functional just adding people there.”

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 Oregon

The Portland Charter Review Commission is a 20-person group, appointed by the City Council, to review the City Charter and recommend changes. This occurs every 10 years.

On June 14, 2022, the Portland Charter Review Commission voted 17-3 to refer the measure to the ballot. The measure required 15 out of 20 votes to go to voters on the ballot.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Oregon

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Oregon.

How to vote in Oregon

Poll times

Oregon is an all-mail voting state. Each county provides privacy booths that voters can use to mark their ballot. County clerks' offices are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. local time on Election Day. Oregon is divided between the Mountain and Pacific time zones.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To register to vote in Oregon, one must be a resident of Oregon, a United States citizen, and at least 16 years old. Voters must be at least 18 years old by the day of the election in order to receive a ballot. Potential voters can register online or by mailing in a voter registration form to your county election office. The deadline to register is 21 days before the election.

Automatic registration

Oregon implemented automatic voter registration in 2016. For more information, click here.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Oregon has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Oregon does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Oregon, you must be a resident of the state.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Oregon does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who knowingly falsely registers "can be fined up to $125,000 and/or imprisoned for up to 5 years."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The Oregon Secretary of State’s Office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website.

Voter ID requirements

Oregon is an all-mail voting state. When registering to vote, voters must provide their driver's license number or state ID card number. If voters can not provide this information, they can print and sign a online voter registration form and mail it to their county election office to complete their registration.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2022
• City governance on the ballot
• Local elections and campaigns on the ballot
• Multnomah County measures

Oregon

• Oregon 2022 local measures
• Local ballot measures, Oregon
• Portland, Oregon

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

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