Right now, San Jose is facing a budget shortfall of more than $50 million that could force the city to cut spending on vital services. But just as the city is grappling with this challenge, it may have to spend millions on unnecessary runoff elections.
It’s a cost that could be completely avoided if we used ranked choice voting for special elections.
Two members of the San Jose City Council – our District 5 councilmember and our mayor – are running for higher office. If one or both wins those elections in November, the vacancies will need to be filled, either by appointment or, most democratically, by special election. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote in that special election, voters will have to go back to the polls a second time for runoffs.
According to the San Jose City Clerk, the last special election runoff for a San Jose City Council seat, in 2025, cost taxpayers more than $1.46 million. That’s money that could be used to support critical public safety, healthcare, and housing needs.
And what would taxpayers get for the money spent on these runoffs? Voter turnout typically drops about 40% in runoffs, meaning a small fraction of voters make the final decision on who represents their entire community. In a December 2025 runoff for Santa Clara County Assessor, turnout fell 53% – and the runoff winner got fewer votes than they did in the first election.
There is a better way. If San Jose adopts ranked choice voting (RCV) – also known as “instant runoff voting” – voters could elect someone supported by a majority in a single, higher-turnout election. With RCV, voters can rank candidates first, second, third, and so on. If no candidate wins a majority of voters’ first choices, the last-place candidate is eliminated and their supporters’ votes automatically count for their next choice. This repeats until a candidate wins with 50% of the vote.
This can all be accomplished as quickly as votes are counted for a non-RCV election, and completely eliminates costly runoffs. Six cities across California have used RCV successfully for years, including five here in the Bay Area like San Francisco and Oakland. 92% of voters in the Bay Area who have used RCV say they understand it well.
RCV also encourages candidates to campaign in a more issues-focused and less toxic way. When candidates need their opponents’ supporters to rank them second or third, they reach out to more voters and launch fewer personal attacks.
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San Jose’s Charter Review Commission recommended that the city adopt RCV for local elections in 2021, and the voting equipment used by the city already supports RCV. It’s the same software used in the five other Bay Area cities that have used RCV for years.
It’s not too late for the San Jose City Council to act on the Charter Review Commission’s recommendation. The City Council could put the question of whether to adopt RCV for special elections on the November ballot and let voters decide.
With this reform, San Jose could give voters a stronger voice, deliver more representative results and save millions of dollars without cutting a single city service.
To the San Jose City Council: Let the voters decide, and put ranked choice voting for special elections on the ballot in November.
To San Jose voters: It is time to ask your councilmember to give you this choice.
Jay Shuler is a San Jose-based musician and educator. He volunteers for the California Ranked Choice Voting Coalition.
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