Californians for
Electoral Reform
Promoting Full Representation Since 1993
July 6, 2026
Subject: California Voting Rights Act tentative ruling
July 7 closed session agenda item 7, 26-582
Dear Mayor McKeon and council members,
The change of city council elections to ranked-choice voting ordered by the Superior Court would be a win for all Huntington Beach voters. We encourage its prompt implementation.
Several forms of ranked-choice voting (RCV) are used by San Francisco and several Alameda County cities, for over two decades in San Francisco’s case; recently by Redondo Beach, and Irvine is considering it. The at-large ranked-choice method ordered by the Court would allow nearly all voters to elect a candidate of their choice, from plenty of options. There is no need to divide the city with boundaries manipulated toward predefined outcomes, with noble intent or otherwise.
With 7-seat RCV, voters rank their candidates on the ballot. Votes initially count for the first choice. A candidate needs 1/8 of the votes plus one vote to win; this way, a majority of the council represents a majority of voters. For any candidates earning more than that, the extra votes count for the next valid choice on the ballot. Then, the last-place candidate is eliminated, with votes going to lower choices. The process repeats until all winners are determined.
Ranking candidates would be new to Orange County voters. We can help the city and county with voter education, as can Cal RCV, FairVote, and the RCV Resource Center. Redondo Beach conducted its recent RCV election using the same voting machines that Orange County uses; their voter education materials could apply with minor edits.
We have started a blog with educational information at:
https://cfer.org/huntington-beach
So far, this features a video explaining the counting process, and interactive charts showing counts of 7-seat RCV elections. We hope to add more soon.
Dave Robinson
CfER Board Member
Dublin, CA
www.cfer.org
PO Box 128
Sacramento, CA 95812
(916) 455-8021
[email protected]
SUPPLEMENTAL COMMUNICATION - Meeting Date: 7/7/26, Item No. 26-582