Voters line up to vote in Ohio, 2008 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Voters in at least 10 U.S. cities currently vote using ranked choice voting (RCV).  As part of the RCV Civility project, we're getting a better idea of the experiences of these voters in RCV elections. 

The Eagleton Poll, with Professor Caroline J. Tolbert and Professor Todd Donovan of Western Washington University, has conducted two rigorous independent opinion polls exploring voters' experiences in local campaigns and elections.

• In November 2013, 2,400 likely voters were surveyed in 10 cities. Three cities had just held local elections using RCV (Minnesota's Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as Cambridge, Mass.); and seven control cities had used plurality voting in their November elections.

• In November 2014, over 2,400 likely voters from eleven cities were surveyed for their views on the conduct of local elections. Four California Bay Area cities (Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco and San Leandro) that had just held local RCV elections were polled, as were seven California control cities.

Both surveys found voters in RCV cities understood RCV, supported its use and thought candidates were less negative and critical of each other.  For a summary download our report on RCV in cities. 

 Explore the latest 2014 poll results by clicking on the button below. 

Explore findings from the surveys:

• Haley Smith, Sarah John and Andrew Douglas summarize the findings from the 2013 and 2014 surveys in  Ranked Choice Voting in Practice: Candidate Civility in Ranked Choice Elections, 2013 & 2014 Survey Brief
• Sarah John explores likely voters' perceptions of campaign tone and civility in the 2014 poll of California cities in Ranked Choice Voting in Practice: Candidate Civility in Bay Area Elections, November 2014.
• Sarah John reports on the socioeconomic and demographic aspects of support for and experiences with RCV in local elections in Socioeconomic and Demographic Perspectives on Ranked Choice Voting in the Bay Area.
• Andrew Douglas explores the findings of the 2013 poll in Ranked Choice Voting and Civility: New Evidence from American Cities.
• Tolbert, Caroline J. Experiments in Election Reform: Voter Perceptions of Campaigns Under Ranked Choice Voting vs. Plurality Voting. Paper prepared for the Workshop on Electoral Systems, Electoral Reform, and Implications for Democratic Performance. Stanford University, March 14-15, 2014.
• Donovan, Todd. Candidate Perceptions of Campaigns under Preferential and Plurality Voting. Presentation prepared for the Workshop on Electoral Systems, Electoral Reform, and Implications for Democratic Performance. Stanford University, March 14-15, 2014.