California: Zany instant runoff race in San Francisco gives voters thousands of choices | Ventura County Star

The city that is home to the crookedest street in the world is this fall witnessing what surely could be the zaniest election in America. There are 16 people running for mayor and hardly a gadfly in the bunch. The field includes the current appointed mayor, two county supervisors, a state senator, the public defender, the city attorney, the assessor-recorder and three former supervisors.

Each is eligible for up to $900,000 in public financing, so none will be starved for campaign funds. Even those who find themselves dropping in the polls will be able to keep battling through Election Day.

When voters receive their ballots, they will have not one, not two, not even just 16 choices to make. Rather, under the instant-runoff voting system that is being used for the first time in a San Francisco mayoral election, they will have 3,360 distinct ways they could fill out their ballot.

Maine: Portland Prepares for Voting Experiment in Crowded Mayoral Race | MPBN

This November, Portland is undertaking a type of voting never tried in Maine before. Its next mayor will be chosen by a process by which voters rank their choices in the order of preference. But that could be quite the task for both the voters and the city officials preparing for the election, given a crowded field of candidates. It now stands at 19 with former state senator Ethan Strimling announcing his bid for mayor today.

… With a vigilant eye on the growing roster of candidates, the city is planning voter education workshops with the League of Women Voters ahead of the Nov. 8 election. And it’s prepared to sign a contract this week with a DC-based election balloting company called True Ballot, which has experience with ranked-choice voting.

“We want to identify any of the possible pitfalls and avoid any kind of voter confusion on the day of the election,” says city spokeswoman Nicole Clegg. Clegg says that if someone gets a simple majority of first choice votes–that’d be 50 percent plus 1 vote–the person wins.

Utah: GOP leader Nelson seeks election overhaul – recommends instant runoff voting | The Salt Lake Tribune

The vice chairman of Utah Republican Party wants state lawmakers to study an “instant runoff voting” system that he says could prevent third-party candidates from “spoiling” elections. Lowell Nelson told the Legislature’s Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee Wednesday that such systems allow voters to list their second choice among candidates, as well as their favorite.

If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who had supported that eliminated candidate would then have their “second-choice” votes given to remaining candidates to help one of them achieve a majority.

Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright said the state party has taken no position on instant runoff voting, and that Nelson is promoting that on his own. Nelson said Sen. Howard Stephenson, R-Draper, was interested in the idea, and asked him to make a presentation about it.

Minnesota: Ranked-voting system to debut in St. Paul City Council elections in November | TwinCities.com

In November, voters in the St. Paul City Council election will be able to choose up to six candidates per seat, ranked in order of preference. In other words, downtown residents could conceivably vote for all five candidates who have filed to run for office in Ward 2.

Nov. 8 will mark the city’s first experience with the new “ranked voting” system, otherwise known as “instant run-off voting” or “ranked-choice voting,” which was supported by voters in a ballot question last year. As a result, Ramsey County, which is contracted to coordinate the city’s elections, is gearing up for significant changes from politics as usual, and candidates, too, have had to adjust.

For starters, the new system has eliminated political primaries. Votes are tallied on Election Day, and if no candidate has 50 percent of the vote plus one vote, the weakest vote-getter is dropped from the results.

California: San Francisco mayoral election to change shape as ranked-choice voting debuts | San Francisco Examiner

Gone are the days when voting was as simple as voting for the best person you most want to see serve. When voters head to the polls on Nov. 8, they will be asked to vote for not only who they want to win the most to serve as San Francisco’s mayor, but also their second and third choices.

For a chart detailing how ranked-choice voting played a role in Jean Quan’s surprise Oakland mayoral election victory, click on the photo to the right.

This way of voting for San Francisco’s mayor has yet to be tested in a citywide race — this is the first time what is known as ranked-choice voting will come into play in the race for The City’s top post.

Maine: New Voting System Debated in Maine Legislature | MPBN.net

Diane Russell’s goal is to enable Mainers to vote for their favorite gubernatorial candidate, rather than against their least favorite. “We want to make sure that the person elected to run our state shares the values of the vast majority of this state,” said Russell. Her bill would enable voters to list candidates in order…

Hawaii: Hawaii lawmakers table runoff-voting bill | Staradvertiser.com

A proposal to impose “instant runoff” voting in county elections has been tabled at the state Legislature this year. House and Senate members decided late Thursday night to defer the measure. “We got some late information on the cost,” said Rep. Gil Keith-Agaran, the House Judiciary Chairman and lead negotiator on the bill. “I think we’d…