Multnomah County elections staff review first ranked-choice voting use in 2024, point to equity and reporting work ahead

Multnomah County Elections Division officials presented a report to the county commission on the implementation of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the City of Portlandcontests during the November 2024 general election, outlining technical preparations, public education efforts and follow-up work needed to address lower turnout and higher rates of ballot errors in some precincts.

The briefing, delivered by Tim Scott, director of the Elections Division, and Leah Benson, the division's ranked-choice voting project manager, reviewed the software certification process, multi-county coordination, hand-recount procedure development and the county's voter-education role alongside the City of Portland. "My name is Tim Scott, and I'm the director for the elections division," Scott told the board. Leah Benson said the briefing's purpose was "to provide an accurate summary of the preparation outcomes and evaluation of the implementation of ranked choice voting for the November" election.

County staff said the technical implementation met major milestones: ClearBallot Group updated its software and underwent testing and federal lab review; the software received Oregon certification on 08/29/2024; a tri-county intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with Clackamas and Washington counties made Multnomah the central tabulator for Portland's multi-jurisdictional contests; and the Elections Division and national advisors created hand-recount procedures for both single- and multi-winner RCV contests. Staff also described three parallel new workflows: a separate RCV ballot page, new tabulation software, and three formats of public results reporting (clickable bar chart, simplified table and a detailed tabular report).

Because the Oregon Secretary of State's election-night reporting system did not support RCV formats, Multnomah County hosted consolidated RCV results for Portland contests on a county website developed with the Department of County Assets. "All procedures for results reporting worked as planned and results were posted to the regular schedule," Benson said, adding that the county posted eight preliminary updates in addition to the final certified results on Dec. 2.

The briefing documented several successful operational elements: coordinated tri-county administration, software certification and internal verification, proactive media briefings and transparent release of cast-vote records and round-by-round tabulations. Staff noted that in the six Portland contests the candidates leading in early counts remained winners in most races; one District 1 contest concluded by last-active-candidate rules in the city code rather than by reaching a transfer threshold.

Elections staff also highlighted persistent equity concerns. County analysis and post-election polling showed lower turnout and higher rates of overvotes (ballot markings that cannot be counted) in City of Portland District 1 (east Portland) and in several precincts with higher percentages of voters of color and households that speak languages other than English at home. Benson summarized the outreach finding: the city led a broad voter-education campaign and Multnomah County supported targeted outreach, but both polling and precinct-level cast-vote-record analysis showed District 1 had lower awareness and higher error rates. "This disparity is an equity concern and will require ongoing focus and targeted voter education outreach efforts," Benson said.

Staff described follow-up work already under way: focus groups and targeted usability testing with District 1 voters (including bilingual groups), additional outreach to voters with disabilities in partnership with county disability services, further automation and refinement of results-reporting formats to reduce staff workload, and a planned return to the board with county RCV administration code proposals in the summer.

Commissioners asked about long-term staffing and budget implications. Scott and department leadership said elections costs include ongoing additional workload and at least one recurring cost the division expects to see: an extra ballot page for RCV ballots estimated at $300,000 every other year. Margie Broadway, director of the Department of County Services, said the Elections Division is largely dependent on the county general fund and that during the current year budget constraints the division prioritized legally required functions such as ballot processing and posting results.

Staff laid out near-term recommendations: draft a Multnomah County elections code for RCV administration, continue refining results-report formats with County IT, collaborate with the City of Portland on a joint RCV voter-education plan for 2026, and begin operational planning for county RCV contests in 2026, including workload and mock ballot design. Benson said a full implementation report and ten recommendations are posted at moltco.us/rcv.

Board members praised the Elections Division's work under a tight timeline but stressed that equity in outreach, clearer results communications and sustainable staffing will be essential before county-wide RCV races in 2026. The briefing moved into commissioner questions and public discussion about outreach and trust in government before the board recessed to continue the agenda.