Boston council advances home-rule petition to put ranked-choice voting on a future ballot

Boston City Councilors voted on Wednesday to advance a home-rule petition that would place a ranked-choice voting (RCV) question on a future municipal ballot, moving the measure from committee to the full council as a new draft after months of hearings and changes.

The proposal would let Boston voters decide whether to adopt RCV for mayor and district city council contests that have three or more candidates and for all at-large general elections; the law would take effect only if voters approve the ballot question and at least 365 days have passed.

Supporters said RCV would help voters express preferences without “wasting” a vote, encourage broader coalitions and deliver winners with majority support. Opponents cautioned that adding complexity now risks confusing voters and could overburden the elections office after operational problems in 2024.

The draft that advanced to the full council includes a series of technical amendments recommended by the committee on government operations. Among the notable changes: general-election ballots would allow voters to rank up to four candidates (including write-ins); preliminary elections for mayor and district council would advance the top four candidates to the general election; the elections commission would publish round-by-round preliminary results on election night (with a best-effort deadline) and provide machine-readable final data to enable independent verification; and a requirement that the elections commission run a multilingual voter-education campaign and design clear ballots.

Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata, chair of the committee on government operations, presented the committee report and described the amended home-rule petition’s technical provisions and implementation timeline. “If passed at the city and state level, the proposal… would be placed before Boston voters on a future election ballot,” she said during the committee report.

Council President Louie Jin urged colleagues to support the measure, saying RCV “makes our elections better by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference.” Supporters pointed to other U.S. cities that use RCV and to voter surveys in some jurisdictions showing that voters can understand the ballot. Councilor Ruthy Mejia and Councilor Henry Santana emphasized the proposal’s potential to improve representation for communities of color and to reduce “spoiler” dynamics in multi‑candidate races.

Opponents included Councilor Ed Flynn, who argued that residents are more focused on public safety and city services than on changing the voting system, and that the city’s election operations were not ready after problems during the 2024 elections. Councilor Kendra Murphy also raised concerns that RCV could introduce “unnecessary complexity” and disenfranchise seniors and English-language learners.

The vote on the committee report and passage in a new draft carried in the council chamber. The roll call recorded eight votes in the affirmative and four in the negative. The petition now moves to the state legislature; if the state approves the home-rule petition and the mayor signs it, the question would be placed on a future municipal ballot and would take effect only after voter approval and a 365‑day implementation period.

The next steps likely include further rulemaking by the elections commission (if the law reaches that stage), continued outreach by the ranked-choice coalition and potential technical rulemaking by the city to coordinate election operations and voter education ahead of any ballot question.

Boston City Councilors who spoke at length for and against the petition included Councilor Gabriela Coletta Zapata (committee chair), Council President Louie Jin, Councilor Ruthy Mejia, Councilor Henry Santana, Councilor Ed Flynn and Councilor Kendra Murphy. Additional working sessions and hearings, some with the election department in attendance, informed the committee’s amendments and the council’s recommendation.

If the state legislature approves the home-rule petition and Boston voters approve RCV on a ballot, the petition as amended provides built-in timelines and requirements intended to give the elections commission time to implement the new tabulation and reporting rules and to run voter education before the first RCV election.