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Title: The Unanticipated Inequalities of Electoral Reform: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Voting Behavior under Oakland's Ranked Choice Voting Program

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: Several cities have recently replaced two-round runoff election systems, in which, if no candidate achieves a majority in the first round, there is a later runoff between the top two candidates, with ranked choice voting (RCV), in which voters rank up to three candidades on a single ballot. Although reformers have argued that this change benefits turnout because participation in second-round run-off voting is often low, the complexity of the RCV system presents its own challenges. Voters from some minority groups do not make full use of their three choices either voting for fewer than three choices or voting for the same candidate multiple times. RCV goes through rounds, dropping the candidate with the fewest votes in each round and transferring votes for that candidate to the next candidate listed on each ballot. Voters who choose only one candidate, or who vote for the same candidate three times, effectively have only one chance to affect the election, and their ballots are therefore more likely to be exhausted, meaning their choices will not be reflected in the later rounds.This thesis examines two questions: (1) does the complexity of rank choice voting deter minorities from going to the polls in the first place; and (2) does RCV disadvantage minority voters because their votes are not as effective as non-minority voters? I measure the effects of RCV on minority and non-minority voting in Oakland, California, which recently held its first RCV election. Using Long Beach, California, as a comparison case, RCV had a negative overall effect on Oakland's turnout in its first RCV election. While Asian and Latino turnout also declined during the transition, the Long Beach counterfactual indicates that RCV actually helped to mitigate the turnout gap for minority groups. In short, the increased complexity of RCV appears not to have discouraged minority turnout. However, the failure of certain minority voters to make full use of their ballot choices counterbalances this positive effect. Voters in 3 high Asian and high Latino precincts generally used their RCV ballots less fully than did voters in precincts with low minority populations. While RCV may not depress minority turnout, it may result in less meaningful participation for some minority groups. With RCV, we must consider not just turnout, but also the extent to which the right to vote is fully exercised.

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Holtzman, Alexander

Publisher: Honors Thesis, Stanford University

Data Collections: IPUMS NHGIS

Topics: Education, Other, Race and Ethnicity

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