Ranked Choice Voting Gains Overwhelming Support from Local Democratic Club

  • March 24, 2026, 10:47 am America/Los_Angeles

In a decisive move that could help to reshape the future of Irvine’s electoral landscape, the Irvine-based club Democrats of Greater Irvine (DGI) voted last week to officially support the adoption of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for both Irvine City Council and Mayoral races.

The motion passed with a resounding 75% supermajority, signaling a unified front among local Democratic activists to modernize how the city conducts its democratic process.

A Mandate for Reform

Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on). If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, they are declared the winner. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their supporters’ second choices are distributed until a winner emerges with a true majority.

For DGI members, the logic behind the 75% support was clear:

  • Ending the “Spoiler Effect”: RCV eliminates the fear of “splitting the vote” between similar candidates, ensuring that the winner truly represents the broadest possible consensus.

  • More Civil Campaigns: Because candidates often need to appeal to voters as a “second choice,” RCV has been shown to reduce negative campaigning and “mudslinging.”

  • Empowering Diverse Voices: RCV encourages a wider range of candidates to run without the gatekeeping traditional “winner-take-all” systems often impose.

  • Prevent “Strategic Voting”: Residents can vote for their favorite candidate first without worrying they are “wasting” their vote or helping their least favorite candidate win.

The timing of this endorsement is critical. As Irvine continues to grow and its demographics shift, the conversation around Charter Reform and how the city handles its expansion to six council districts has intensified.

Building on the Foundation of Measure D

The overwhelming support for RCV (75%) does not exist in a vacuum. It follows the successful passage of Measure D in March 2024, which fundamentally changed Irvine’s governance for the first time in decades. By nearly 60% of the vote, residents chose to:

  • Expand the City Council: Increasing the body from five to seven members (six councilmembers and one at-large Mayor).

  • Shift to District-Based Elections: Moving away from “at-large” voting—where every resident voted for every seat—to a system where residents vote for a single representative who lives in and understands their specific neighborhood.

The first phase of this transition was implemented in November 2024 for Districts 1 through 4, with Districts 5 and 6 set to follow in 2026.

The “Why Now” for Ranked Choice Voting

While district elections solved the issue of geographic representation, proponents argue that Ranked Choice Voting is the tool needed to solve the issue of voter intent.

In the most recent 2024 elections, several district races saw a crowded field of candidates. Under the current “plurality” system, a candidate can win with far less than 50% of the vote if the remaining ballots are split among multiple opponents. And since 1996, all the Irvine mayoral races with two or more candidates resulted in a winner who won by less than 50% of the vote, with some winning by as low as 37%. See graphs below.

For DGI members, RCV represents a move toward majority mandate—ensuring that whoever represents an Irvine district has been vetted and approved by a true majority of that district’s voters.

What’s Next for RCV in Irvine?

While the DGI vote is a significant political endorsement, the ultimate power to implement RCV lies with the Irvine City Council or the voters via a ballot initiative. With the 2026 election cycle on the horizon, this surge of support from the city’s largest Democratic club puts significant pressure on local leaders to consider RCV as a viable path forward for a more inclusive and representative Irvine.

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