| Nicole Hayden | Oregon Live |
Multnomah County voters approved a switch to ranked choice voting Tuesday night.
Partial return tallies as of 8 p.m. showed the measure ahead with 67% voting “yes” to the change. Votes are still being counted.
”I think it would be a positive change if you could rank candidates.
If ranked choice voting is indeed approved by voters, the county will begin using the voting method in 2026. Voters appeared on their way approving a similar much more complex voting change for the city of Portland.
Supporters say ranked choice voting aims to eliminate that system of voting for the lesser of two evils, and instead make voters feel confident in supporting who they truly wish to elect.
It’s a system already in use in many places, including New York City, Minneapolis, San Francisco and Oakland. So far, Benton County is the only county in Oregon that uses it to select county commissioners and the sheriff.
Nina Khanjan, who was a member of the Multnomah County charter review committee, said she voted to support the ballot to make voting more representative of the community.
“I think it would be a positive change if you could rank candidates,” Khanjan said, who is a registered Democrat. “If there is more than one progressive candidate than you could potentially vote for multiple progressive candidates and still even if your first choice didn’t get voted in, you’d still have a chance to get your second option into the position so you wouldn’t lose your vote.”
