Ranked Choice Voting eliminates expensive, low-turnout municipal primaries and makes our local elections more inclusive and representative.

• Prior to Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), any time there were more than two candidates on the ballot, Minnetonka would hold city primaries in August where only five percent of voters would decide the top two candidates the rest of the city could consider in the November general election. Since 1985, 10 out of the last 18 municipal elections have required an August primary which costs the city $40,000 to $60,000 each.

• Ranked Choice Voting eliminated the high-cost, low-turnout primary and combined these two elections into one election in November, when turnout is higher and more representative of the community.

• RCV saves time and money for candidates, voters and the city.

• Since candidates don’t have to worry about overcoming an unrepresentative August primary, RCV encourages more candidates to run and gives voters more choice at the ballot box.

Minnetonka’s first election using Ranked Choice Voting in 2021 was a huge success:

• Higher voter turnout - Voter turnout increased dramatically: 52% higher than the average for general city council elections since 1985, and 95% higher than the average over the past 10 years.

• More choices - Minnetonka had 12 candidates running for three offices, the most candidates ever for a Minnetonka City Council election.

• More Cost-Effective - The city saved the cost of holding an expensive, low-turnout primary. Each municipal primary cost taxpayers $40,000-60,000, and less than 5% of voters would participate.

• Majority winners - In the at-large B race, the only race that went to a runoff, 71% of voters ranked their ballots, and the winning candidate earned a majority of total votes cast.

• Voters like it - According to the City of Minnetonka voter survey, the majority of voters rated their overall experience using ranked choice voting as good or excellent.

• The valid ballot rate was 99.9 percent.

Ranked Choice Voting improves and strengthens our local democracy.

Ranked Choice Voting:

• Gives voters greater voice, choice and power
  Incentivizes candidates to reach voters outside their base and build broad coalitions of voter support

• Ensures winners have a majority of voter support
  Reduces political division and extremism

• Fosters more civil campaigns and a more responsive government

• Promotes more inclusive, diverse and representative elections

• Eliminates the spoiler problem and wasted votes

• In local elections, eliminates the costly low-turnout primary and combines the primary and general elections into one election in November when turnout is higher and more representative of the community.
  
  

Prior to the adoption of Ranked Choice Voting, Minnetonka held city primaries in August where on average only five percent of voters showed up and decided the top two candidates the rest of the city could consider in the November general election.

In 2020, seeking to change a system that discouraged so many voters from participating, a group of Minnetonka residents organized to bring Ranked Choice Voting to Minnetonka, and the city council voted to place the question on the ballot. In November 2020, a high turnout presidential election, 54.7% of Minnetonka voters approved of ranked choice voting for mayor and city council elections. The first Minnetonka city election using Ranked Choice Voting in 2021 was a huge success.

Minnetonka’s first election using Ranked Choice Voting in 2021 was a huge success:

• More choices - Minnetonka had 12 candidates running for three offices, the most candidates ever for a Minnetonka City Council election.

• Higher voter turnout - Voter turnout increased dramatically: 52% higher than the average for general city council elections since 1985, and 95% higher than the average over the past 10 years.

• More Cost-Effective - The city saved the cost of holding an expensive, low-turnout primary. Each municipal primary cost taxpayers $40,000-60,000, and less than 5% of voters would participate.

• Majority winners - In the at-large B race, the only race that went to a runoff, 71% of voters ranked their ballots, and the winning candidate earned a majority of total votes cast.

• Voters like it - According to the City of Minnetonka voter survey, the majority of voters rated their overall experience using ranked choice voting as good or excellent.

• The valid ballot rate was 99.9 percent.
  

In Minnetonka’s first Ranked Choice Voting election in 2021, voter turnout increased dramatically: 52% higher than the average for general city council elections since 1985, and 95% higher than the average over the past 10 years.

In addition to general election turnout, Ranked Choice Voting automatically increases voter participation by eliminating the low-turnout primary and allowing voters to consider the full slate of candidates in the general election when turnout is higher and more representative. Having one decisive election in November encourages more candidates to engage with more voters over a longer period of time, and allows more people to fully participate in the entire election process. Plus, voters have to show up at the polls only once, which is easier and less expensive for everyone.

Yes. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) saves Minnetonka taxpayers the cost of conducting low-turnout primaries, which cost $40,000-60,000 each. Because voters are able to rank candidates, RCV eliminates the need for the primary. Since 1985, 10 out of the last 18 municipal elections have required an August primary, and, without RCV, the last two municipal elections –– 2021 and this year –– had multi-candidate races that would have required city primaries.

While there are some costs to educate voters about RCV, those costs do not exceed the savings from eliminating the primary and those costs will decrease over time as more voters gain experience using the system. Indeed, according to the Minnetonka City Clerk’s office, the city spent $25,000 on RCV in 2021, and have budgeted to spend $16,000 in 2023.

In Minnetonka’s first Ranked Choice Voting election, there were 12 candidates running for three offices, the most candidates ever for a Minnetonka City Council election. And this year, there are 12 candidates running for four seats.

Ranked Choice Voting eliminated the need for a city primary in August, which often deterred good candidates from running because it is expensive to run both a primary and general election campaign, and difficult for new candidates without name recognition to campaign for a summer primary where only 5% of voters participate.

Ranked Choice Voting levels the playing field for candidates by eliminating the primary. All candidates are on the ballot in November, giving new candidates more time to campaign and allowing a broader, more representative electorate the chance to weigh in. Voters can pick their favorite candidate, knowing that their second choice will count if their first choice doesn’t have enough support to win. By eliminating the spoiler problem, RCV allows more candidates to run without fear of being a spoiler or a wasted vote.

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) reduces political division and extremism by changing the incentives for candidates and elected officials. Under Ranked Choice Voting, candidates need to earn a majority of voter support in order to win, which means focusing on issues most voters care about and earning second-choice votes from opponents’ supporters.

Dividing and attacking may be an effective strategy under the traditional system when there are only two candidates and you convince enough voters that your opponent is contemptible. In those situations, candidates can win votes by driving up opponents’ negatives, thereby persuading voters to vote against the opponent instead of for the candidate.

In contrast, RCV incentivizes candidates to campaign positively on ideas and positions that matter to voters. Since candidates are motivated to secure second-choice votes from their opponent’s supporters, RCV:

• Rewards candidates who appeal to a broad base of voters

• Reduces the incentive for candidates to attack their opponents and promotes more civil, issue-oriented campaigns

• Fosters coalition-building and compromise
  

Candidates behave differently knowing that being someone’s second choice is a tangible benefit. Once in office, a winner who has built a broad coalition of support can more easily reach beyond their base to forge compromises and problem-solve the critical issues facing their communities. In an era of hyper-partisanship and divisive politics, RCV is a key response to our nation’s growing polarization.

Research comparing ranked-choice and plurality elections confirms RCV’s positive impact on civility. Polling by Edison Research following RCV elections in Minnesota shows that voters believe the campaigns have been civil. While some candidates may try negative campaign tactics in ranked-choice elections, it’s not a successful strategy under RCV and often backfires.

Ranked Choice Voting helps break through political gridlock and fosters a more responsive government. Because candidates need to earn a majority of voter support in order to win, they are accountable to more voters. A more broadly accountable candidate makes for a more responsive officeholder and can lead to better outcomes for the city. Elected officials are incentivized to listen to all the voters in their district, not just the fraction of voters that tend to show up in August primaries.

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is simple, and the 2021 City of Minnetonka voter survey confirms that Minnetonka voters understand how to use it:

• The majority of voters rated their overall experience using ranked choice voting as good or excellent.

• Over 65% said that the resources and information provided by the City of Minnetonka were effective in informing them about ranked choice voting.

• Close to 88% of voters said they felt prepared to cast their ballot.

• 91% reported they either understood or somewhat understood Ranked Choice Voting, as compared to less than 8% who said they did not understand RCV.

This is consistent with extensive polling of voters who use Ranked Choice Voting. In elections with three or more candidates, voters simply rank their choices instead of voting for just one candidate. RCV makes voting simpler by asking voters to come out once and eliminating the need to be “strategic” with their vote. In fact, the valid ballot rate in Minnetonka’s first RCV election was 99.9%, demonstrating high levels of voter confidence and proficiency in ranking their ballots.

Yes. In 2009, the Minnesota State Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Ranked Choice Voting is constitutional: “Every voter has the same opportunity to rank candidates when she casts her ballot, and in each round every voter's vote carries the same value.” Minnesota Voters Alliance v. FairVote Minnesota, June 11, 2009. Federal courts have also ruled that RCV meets all tests under the U.S. Constitution.

No. Voters have the power to rank candidates, but their vote only counts for one candidate in the final round of counting. Every voter gets an equal vote. In each round of counting, your ballot counts as one vote for your highest-ranked candidate still in the running. If your favorite candidate has been eliminated – just as in a traditional primary election – your choice is limited to one of the remaining candidates, and under Ranked Choice Voting, your vote automatically counts for your next choice on the ballot.

Since 1985, 10 out of the last 18 municipal elections have required an August primary, and, without RCV, the last two municipal elections –– 2021 and this year –– had multi-candidate races that would have required city primaries.

Yes. In a Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) election for a single race, it is always the case that the winner receives a majority of ballots cast (50%+1) in the final round.

For example, in the 2021 Minnetonka at-large B race, the only race that went to a runoff, 71% of voters ranked their ballots, and the winning candidate, Councilmember Kimberly Willburn, won with 51% of total votes cast. Here’s the math:

• In the first round, Wilburn earned 4,139 first-choice votes.

• In the final round, she had 5,205 votes.

• The total initial ballots cast was 10,190.
  

• 5,205 divided by 10,190 is 51%.

While 16.62% of voters didn’t rank beyond a first-choice, that simply indicates those voters did not have a preference between the remaining candidates. If they had a preference, they could have ranked them. Choosing only a first-choice candidate is like voting in a primary election for your favorite candidate, and then if that candidate gets eliminated in the primary, not voting for one of the remaining candidates in the general election. RCV simply rolls the two elections into a single ballot in the November election when more people are voting.

No. To date, of the 35 Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) elections in Minnesota in which winners were decided in a runoff (with second- or third-choice votes), the second-place finisher won in only two of those elections.

This is similar to the second-place finisher in a primary election winning the general election. It doesn’t happen often, but it can happen in highly competitive races. Twenty-seven percent (35 of 128) of all races using RCV in Minnesota have been decided with second or third-choice votes, and that outcome is accomplished in a single cost-effective, high-turnout election. For the vast majority of elections that are decided without the need for more than one round of tabulation, no money is wasted on an unnecessary primary.

Voters support Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), winning on the ballot in Minnetonka in the 2020 high-turnout presidential election. For the growing list of supporters on the Vote No on Repeal Campaign, see rcvminnetonka.org/supporters.

RCV is supported by a wide range of Minnesota political, business, community, and philanthropic leaders, media publications and civic organizations, including the League of Women Voters Minnesota and the DFL, Independent, Green, and Libertarian parties.

The Star Tribune, Sun Sailor and Current and ECM papers, and Rochester Post Bulletin have editorialized in favor of RCV, as have a number of papers across the country, including the New York Times and Washington Post.

A growing number of national political scientists and business professors are championing RCV as a top reform to address our nation's growing polarization, including the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Stanford Professor Larry Diamond, and Harvard Business School professor Michael Porter, to name a few.

While we can’t speculate on the motives of opponents of Ranked Choice Voting, we do know they want to bring back a low-turnout primary in which only 5% of voters narrow down the field of candidates for the rest of the voters to choose from in November. And they’re trying to repeal Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) during an off-year election with lower turnout than the 2020 presidential election when more voters opted to adopt RCV. Neither of these actions is democratic.

No. While the Humphrey School website links to a paper on Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), the paper represents the individual views and conclusions of the authors –– a graduate student and Professor Larry Jacobs, a longtime RCV opponent –– and does not represent the views or independent research of the Humphrey School. Contrary to claims made by opponents of RCV in Minnetonka, it is not a “study,” by the Humphrey School or the authors. This paper has neither been published by an academic journal, nor peer-reviewed, and moreover, sets forth a cursory review of what turns out to be outdated and misinterpreted research on RCV. See: Here’s the Evidence Supporting Ranked Choice Voting.

The movement to bring Ranked Choice Voting to Minnetonka was started by a group of Minnetonka residents who wanted to make our local elections more inclusive, efficient and representative. They partnered with FairVote Minnesota, a nonpartisan, nonprofit that educates and advocates for Ranked Choice Voting. Funding for the effort came from Minnetonka residents, as well as democracy friends from across Minnesota. Resources from state and national democracy foundations provided additional support. All of the sources of funding for the campaign to bring RCV to Minnetonka were disclosed in a campaign finance report, completely transparent and not “dark money.”

Moreover, while the ballot measure to bring RCV to Minnetonka did take place in 2020 during the pandemic, voter turnout was extremely high in that presidential election year, and 55% of Minnetonka voters said yes to RCV.