Richmond voters consider conflicting ballot measures that would change how local leaders are elected.

On Election Day, Richmond voters will decide between two ballot measures that could reshape elections for the foreseeable future. 

On the ballot are two options: Measure J’s two-round primary system or Measure L, an instant run-off, otherwise known as ranked-choice voting. Both address concerns over representation but through vastly different approaches. 

Measure J, which is supported by local unions and known as the Richmond Election Reform Act, would maintain the familiar two-round primary election where a candidate must secure a simple majority to win. All mayoral and City Council candidates would compete in the primary election, and the top two would move to the general election. The winner must receive a simple majority of the vote before taking office.

Don Gosney, a longtime Richmond resident who organized the signature campaign to get Measure J on the ballot, says it is straightforward for voters and cost-effective given that Contra Costa County currently uses a similar setup. He argues that ranked-choice would be confusing, expensive to implement, and open the door to political corruption. 

“What the ranked-choice voting people call coalition building, other people call collusion,” he said. “The strategy is to run multiple folks all at once to split the vote.”

Meanwhile, Measure L would change Richmond’s elections from the current plurality system to ranked-choice voting. In this system, voters rank their ballot choices in order of preference. If no one wins a majority in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, redistributing votes according to preferences until one candidate has the majority. The measure was placed on the ballot by the City Council after a unanimous vote and is endorsed by the Richmond Progressive Alliance and Richmond Chapter Service Employees International Union Local 1021. 

Supporters of Measure L argue that ranked-choice voting would better represent voters across the city. Councilmember Gayle McLaughlin believes this system could boost voter engagement and encourage positive campaigning. 

“Since candidates must attract second and third place votes, it gives strong incentives to make broad-based appeals,” she said.

Some data suggests this is true. In a 2024 study, voters in ranked-choice voting jurisdictions were found to be 17% more likely to vote in municipal elections than those in other jurisdictions. As far as lowering the political temperature, it has been more difficult to prove. 

A recent study by the University of Chicago found that in most instances, ranked-choice voting “should encourage more moderate candidates to run.” However, it also importantly noted that in some instances, it could have the opposite effect. 

Currently, the plurality system allows a candidate to win without a majority. For example, in 2022, Mayor Eduardo Martinez took office after receiving 36.2% of the vote. His challengers, Shawn Dunning, Nat Bates and Mark Wassberg, collectively received the remaining 60%. Under a ranked-choice voting system, the highest-ranking candidate that wins a majority will win the mayoral race rather than someone winning a third of the votes. 

Nadine Argueza, communications director for the RPA, fears that if Measure J passes, it will contribute to low voter turnout. Data suggests that fewer people vote in primary elections, and opponents say this measure would over-represent the most engaged and well-resourced voters, a group that typically skews older and white. 

“There are certain barriers where individuals, especially those living in poverty, the uninsured, those with disabilities, those that live in unsafe neighborhoods are especially at risk of not having enough resources that they need to vote in the first place,” she said. 

“We feel that having multiple elections would be a strain on those individuals,” she said, referring to the two rounds needed for a primary election.

But if Measure L passes, the changes may not be in place by the next election. According to Shiva Mishek, the mayor’s chief of staff, if city officials deem costs unreasonable, ranked-choice voting may be delayed. 

Union backing

Many ranked choice voting systems in the country are operated using software from Dominion Voting Systems, the company that produces and sells software, electronic voting machines, and tabulators used in national elections. 

Gosney says the cost of implementing Measure L is unknown and potentially too high due to the negotiations with the companies that provide the voting software. 

“Dominion won’t even provide a quote until they are ready to sit down and negotiate an actual contract,” he said. 

Despite the potential challenges of implementing Measure L, some feel Measure J would lead to the over-representation of developers, given the high union backing, as Richmond resident Joseph Puleo described. Measure J is supported by the Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 342, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 302, the Boilermakers Union Local 549, and the Richmond Police Officers Association. It was put on the ballot following a signature petition and campaign costing more than $200,000.

Puleo sees the large sum raised by the building trades unions to place Measure J on the ballot as evidence that unions see ranked choice as a threat to their development interests. 

“The unions want a council to be much looser in approving buildings in Richmond,” Puleo said. 

Gosney, a former negotiator for Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 342 and the producer of the local media outlet Radio Free Richmond, acknowledged that development is key to union support for Measure J, claiming that the current City Council has stifled development at the cost of economic growth. 

“We need development here in Richmond, or the city will grow stagnant and die — and that serves none of us,” he said. 

The two measures try to address the same problem in very different ways. If both measures pass by a majority, the measure with the highest number of votes will dictate how Richmond elects its leaders. If neither hits that mark, the current system will stay in place.

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