Amend Portland City Elections Code to implement ranked choice voting approved by voters in Portland Measure 26-288 (replace Code Chapter 2.08)

In November 2022, voters approved amendments to Portland’s City Charter that included establishment of a mayor-council form of government, creation of four new geographic districts with three councilors representing each district, and election of City officers using ranked choice voting. This ordinance amends Portland City Code Chapter 2.08 to ensure successful implementation of ranked choice voting for the 2024 November election. The amended Chapter 2.08 reflects careful consideration and collaboration between the City, Multnomah County, and the Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center (RCVRC). RCVRC is a national expert in ranked choice voting, leading the implementation of ranked choice voting in jurisdictions across the country. The language in amended Chapter 2.08 is based on City and county elections requirements, state law, national best practices, and, in some cases, software limitations. Multnomah County is leading the coordination with Washington and Clackamas counties.

City elections are primarily administered by Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas Counties, with the City Elections Office also administering certain aspects. Costs associated with changes to Chapter 2.08 and the City elections process (increased administrative costs and upcoming candidate and voter education) are included in the FY22-23 budget and have been requested in the FY23-24 budget.

The amended Chapter 2.08 and associated voter education will affect every Portland voter. The City’s Charter Transition Team sought specific public input on several policy choices and general feedback to inform the City’s voter education efforts. Input was received through a variety of means including by email, a public survey, a community listening session, and staff presentations at community meetings. The Charter requires the City to perform periodic voter education. While this was known at the onset of the transition work, drafting the Chapter 2.08 amendments made it clear just how critical voter (and candidate) education will be to ensure voters and candidates feel confident navigating the new elections system in November 2024. The changes truly do impact every aspect of how Portlanders vote. Given the significance of these impacts, the City is partnering with Multnomah County on creation of consistent and clear voter education materials and will soon be releasing a request for proposals for an organization to lead a coalition of community-based organizations in providing voter education to harder-to-reach voters, such as Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color; immigrants and refugees; seniors; people with disabilities; members of the City’s minority language communities; unhoused and housing insecure residents; communities with limited digital access; and residents of neighborhoods with turnout below the City average. Voter education will be focused on how to use ranked choice voting in City elections.