Sarasota, Florida, Question 2, Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (November 2007)

Sarasota Question 2
Election date November 6, 2007
Topic Local charter amendments and Local elections and campaigns
Status Approved
Type Initiative

Sarasota Question 2 was on the ballot as an initiative in Sarasota on November 6, 2007. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported establishing ranked-choice voting for Sarasota city elections.

A "no" vote opposed establishing ranked-choice voting for Sarasota city elections.

Aftermath

The state of Florida banned local ranked-choice voting in 2022. Municipalities in Florida had authorized, but not used, ranked-choice voting when the state banned the system.

Election results

Sarasota Question 2
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		6,554	77.61%
No		1,891	22.39%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for Question 2 was as follows:

“

Amendment to require the use of the Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) method for all district and at large City Commission elections. IRV enables voters to rank all of the candidates for an office in order of preference on a single ballot: first, second, third, etc. Votes are then counted in rounds until one candidate (or two candidates in an at large election) emerges with a majority of votes cast.

”

Full Text

The full text of this measure is available here.

Support

Supporters

Organizations

• FairVote
• League of Women Voters of Florida

Arguments

The official arguments included in the voter's pamphlet were as follows:

• Fairvote: "Instant runoff voting requires a little more of voters, but its benefits are worthwhile. For example: It would eliminate Sarasota's need to pay for a separate runoff election, which costs about $37,000 for a citywide runoff. It results in a candidate with majority support from the largest number of voters. Runoff elections are notorious for their low turnout, leaving the ultimate election of officials up to a tiny minority of voters. It encourages candidates to appeal to all voters rather than a bloc of supporters. It minimizes "wasted votes" -- votes cast for a candidate who is given little chance of winning. All voters can vote their conscience for a first choice, then choose other candidates in order of preference. The process seems well suited to Sarasota County's new optical-scan voting system, in which voters mark paper ballots with a pen or pencil. Indicating a rank isn't much more demanding than filling in an oval. Besides, instant runoff voting would apply only in Sarasota city races involving more than two candidates, and voters would have the option of ranking or not."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not locate a campaign or arguments against the measure.

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

The charter amendment was placed on the ballot by citizen initiative petition.

See also

2007 Measures

• 2007 Measures
• Local elections and campaigns on the ballot
• Local charter amendments on the ballot
• Local electoral systems on the ballot
• 2007 legislative sessions

Sarasota

• Sarasota ballot measures
• Sarasota ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Sarasota Code of Ordinances
• Election results