| Victoria Le | Orange County Register |
Irvine is asking voters to decide whether the city should switch from its traditional, one-candidate election system, to a ranked-choice voting system for councilmember and mayor races starting in 2028.
If Measure D is approved by voters, the city could shoulder the unique costs related to being the first to adopt ranked-choice voting in Orange County, including the cost of educating voters and modifying county voting machines and election materials to accommodate.
”Majority support
“In Irvine, candidates are regularly elected with less than one-third of the vote. Which means two-thirds of voters are represented by someone they don’t want. That is not real democracy,” Councilmember Kathleen Treseder said in the argument in favor that appears with the ballot. “Ranked Choice Voting guarantees that Irvine residents elect officeholders who win majority support. And it’s cost-effective. This is what real democracy looks like.”