BLUE FOLDER ITEM
Blue folder items are additional back up material to administrative reports and/or public comments received after the printing and distribution of the agenda packet for receive and file.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
NOVEMBER 8, 2022
M.1 DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION PERTAINING TO A POSSIBLE CHARTER
AMENDMENT FOR VOTERS TO APPROVE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF RANKED
CHOICE VOTING FOR CITY ELECTIVE OFFICES OR THE OPTION TO VEST THE
POWER TO THE CITY COUNCIL TO SET THE TYPE OF ELECTION THAT SHOULD
OCCUR BY THE CITY COUNCIL BY ORDINANCE FOR VOTERS TO DETERMINE BY MEASURE AT THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION OF MARCH 7, 2023 CONTACT: ELEANOR MANZANO, CITY CLERK
EMAIL COMMUNICATION: RB RCV FACT SHEET OF RANKED CHOICE VOTING INSTITUTE
Redondo Beach RCV Fact Sheet
Prepared by the California Ranked Choice Voting Institute
TYPE OF ELECTION
● Council-Manager Current System -- Two Round Runoff
○ Council:
■ There are 5 council districts. Council members must live in the district they represent.
■ There is a separately elected Mayor who does not vote unless the Council is tied. The Mayor also has veto power.
■ Terms are 4 years. Districts 3 and 5 are elected the year after a gubernatorial election, and districts 1, 2, 4 and Mayor are elected the year after a presidential election.
○ Other elected City officials include City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Treasurer. ○ There is also a five-member School Board, elected at-large by plurality (no runoffs).
○ Elections are held in March of odd numbered years. If a runoff is necessary, it is held in May. Winners are seated April 1st of odd numbered years, unless there has to be a runoff, in which case they are seated after the runoff results have been certified.
○ The City contracts with Hart Intercivic to run their elections. Other than getting the list of registered voters from Los Angeles County, the County is not involved. ● Proposed Reform -- Runoff elections would be eliminated. One Ranked Choice Voting (aka Instant Runoff Voting) election would be held in March for each single-winner contest.
● This would apply to the Mayor, Council members, City Attorney, City Clerk, and City Treasurer.
● It could apply to the School Board because the school board is created by the City Charter. [The 5-member School Board is currently elected with at-large plurality, staggered 4-year terms, so the multi-winner form of RCV would be appropriate here, similar to Albany.]
TO EFFECT THIS CHANGE
The City of Redondo Beach has a charter. According to state law, the citizens of Redondo Beach must vote to amend the charter in order to use RCV.
1. The city council directs the city attorney to draw up charter amendment language. The California RCV Institute can provide draft language that the city attorney can use as a starting point.
2. The city council places the RCV charter amendment on the ballot.
3. The council controls the writing of the argument in favor, and the rebuttal to the argument against.
4. The election campaign to pass the measure will be run by community groups and individuals. The California RCV Coalition will assist with this effort as requested.
5. After the measure passes, the City collaborates with their vendor regarding how quickly RCV can be implemented by the vendor so it can be used for the first time, and what the cost will be.
6. Voter Education --- Based on experience in other jurisdictions:
● The first RCV election should have a very strong voter education effort. The second election needs some voter education, and after that a focussed effort is not usually needed.
● We recommend voter education should reach all voters, with extra education and outreach to the elderly and to historically underserved communities. ● Voters generally do not pay much attention until about 30 days before early voting begins; that is when focused voter education needs to occur. ● For the elderly and communities of color, we have found that partnering with trusted community organizations works best.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
● POTENTIAL SAVINGS:
Potentially significant recurring savings from not having to have a separate runoff election, or to have staff be prepared to conduct a runoff election each cycle. ● POTENTIAL COSTS:
○ One-time:
■ Cost of placing the measure on the ballot
■ Possible cost for the City Attorney to draft the language ■ Voter Education for the first election
■ Voter Education for the second election
■ Candidate and Media Education for the first election
○ Recurring, per election:
■ Hart might charge more for RCV elections than for plurality elections. ■ Possible cost for using more ballot space for RCV due to needing space to rank the candidates.
○ Redondo Beach appears to prefer to contract with Hart Intercivic (HI) to run its elections. HI is in the process of seeking certification of its RCV capability with the Secretary of State. Redondo Beach will need to speak with HI concerning any possible additional costs. Redondo Beach could also ask Dominion Voting Systems (Dominion) for a competitive bid, as Dominion’s Democracy Suite is already certified for RCV.
BENEFITS FOR REDONDO BEACH
BY AVOIDING RUNOFF ELECTIONS, THE CITY WILL REALIZE SEVERAL BENEFITS:
● GREATER VOTER PARTICIPATION AND BETTER REPRESENTATION Redondo Beach’s May runoff elections tend to have fewer voters than its March general elections. By producing a winner in the higher turnout March election, more voters will be choosing the winners, and thus selecting their council members, relative to May runoff elections.
● LOWER CAMPAIGN COSTS
Candidates will no longer have to raise and spend money for a runoff election. ● CAMPAIGNS TEND TO BE MORE CIVIL
Campaigns tend to be more issue-oriented and positive with RCV, because candidates realize that they want to be ranked #2 or #3 by supporters of their opponents.
Candidates therefore try not to alienate their opponents' supporters.
RUNOFF ELECTION HISTORY SINCE 2007
Votes for the Candidates
Contest General Runoff Decrease
Margin of
Victory
2007 D5 1158 1028 130 (11.2%) 58(*1)
2013 Mayor 12321 8614 3707 (30.1%) 148(*1)
2013 D1 2960 2230 730 (24.7%) 404(*1)
2013 D4 1858 1332 526 (28.3%) 122(*1)
2013 Treas(*2) 8225 9521 -1296 (-15.8%) 1223(*3)
2015 D3 2626 2835 -209 (-8.0%) 497(*3)
2017 D1 3613 3480 133 (3.7%) 750(*4)
Source for election data:
https://www.redondo.org/depts/city_clerk/election_info/election_results.asp Notes:
(*1) The number of "Exhausted Voters" (voters who skipped the runoff) was greater than the final winner's margin of victory.
(*2) The 2013 Treasurer first election was during the May special, with the runoff election in July.
(*3) Difference between the second and third place finishers in the first election. (*4) The margin of victory was larger than the decrease in voters.
The average "Exhausted Voter" (or dropoff) percentage (including the contests where there was an increase) is 10.6%. If we ignore increases, since that can't happen with RCV, the average dropoff is 19.6%.