Voters reject statewide ranked-choice voting (Measure 117) in early voting

Oregonians will stick with winner-take-all elections for federal and state offices, with partial results for Measure 117 indicating the “no” vote is ahead.

Partial results Tuesday showed 60% of voters opposed the measure and 40% supported it.

The ballot measure would have required officials to adopt ranked-choice voting for elections for president, Congress, governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and labor commissioner by 2028. It would also have allowed cities and counties to adopt the voting system for local elections and required the Secretary of State's office to create a voter education program for the new system.

Under the ranked-choice voting system established by the measure, voters rank the candidates on their ballot in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than half of the initial votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Votes for that candidate are then distributed among the remaining candidates based on voters' subsequent preferences. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.

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Supporters of the measure said it would encourage candidates from diverse backgrounds to run for office because they would be less concerned about splitting votes with similar candidates. Additionally, they believe ranked choice voting gives more voters a voice in elections and increases voter engagement.

Opponents of the measure argue that the expanded ballots required for ranked-choice voting create more opportunities for voter error. They also claim that voters have no influence on the outcome if their top vote-getters are eliminated in the vote count.

The measure received support from many prominent Oregon civil rights, labor and civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, the League of Women Voters and the Urban League of Portland.

Wealthy ranked-choice voting supporters from outside Oregon donated millions of dollars to support the ballot measure. The political action committee supporting Measure 117 had raised $9.4 million as of Tuesday, campaign finance filings show, almost all of which came from out-of-state nonprofits.

Although no campaign raised money against Measure 117, a group of county officials launched a political action committee in August to raise concerns about the measure. Officials said the new voting system would overwhelm their offices and cost millions to roll out. They also said they were not adequately consulted when lawmakers put the measure on the ballot in 2023.