St. Paul, Minnesota, Ranked-Choice Voting Measure (November 2009)
| St. Paul Ranked-Choice Voting Measure | |
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| Topic Local elections and campaigns and Local electoral systems |
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| Type Referral |
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St. Paul Ranked-Choice Voting Measure was on the ballot as a referral in St. Paul on November 3, 2009. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported establishing ranked-choice voting for mayoral and city council elections. |
A "no" vote opposed establishing ranked-choice voting for mayoral and city council elections. |
Election results
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St. Paul Ranked-Choice Voting Measure |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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17,083 | 52.45% | ||
| No | 15,486 | 47.55% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Ranked-Choice Voting Measure was as follows:
| “ | Should St. Paul voters be required to use instant-runoff voting in mayoral and city council elections? | ” |
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
On June 24, 2009, the St. Paul City Council voted unanimously to place the issue on the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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