Alameda County Voters To Try Ranked Choice Ballot
OAKLAND (KCBS) - The November elections are less than one month away and some voters in Alameda County will see something they've never seen before. Voters in Oakland, San Leandro and Berkeley will use ranked-choice voting for the first time on November 2nd.
Alameda County Registrar of Voters Dave McDonald explains that all the candidates for a contest are listed three times on the ballot under first, second and third choice columns.
"The voter then ranks their choices in the contest in their order of preference, one, two, and three," said McDonald.
Ranked-choice voting allows a city to eliminate the need for a primary, he said.
"For instance, in Oakland they would normally have a June primary followed by a November runoff if no candidate won in the primary, now they have no need for a second election because everything is done in one election," said McDonald.
San Francisco has been using ranked choice voting since 2004.
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