portland’s new election system: a big win for representative democracy
Portland’s first election under its new system has delivered major improvements for representative democracy. My analysis in three major categories – reflective representation, meaningful electoral options, and voter participation – shows that this reform has strengthened Portland’s election ecosystem across the board.
exploring voter participation + demographics at the precinct level
Voter participation in local elections varies across the city. Understanding these geographic patterns in voter participation – paired with information about Portland’s demographic trends – can help the city design targeted, effective voter education strategies to improve participation in future elections. In this blog, we share some maps that demonstrate voter participation in last year’s mayoral and city council races, alongside racial demographic trends.
city council representation + government efficacy: what portlanders say
This May, Oregon Values and Beliefs Center opened its 2nd annual “Your City, Your Choice Survey” to hear directly from Portland residents about their feelings on the city’s past, present, and future. The survey offers a snapshot of Portland’s perspective on essential questions: What’s working? What’s not? Just 5 months into the city’s transition to a more geographically representative City Council, elected via ranked-choice voting, respondents hint at the merit of these changes.
portland’s district 4 election shows how the new voting system rewards open-mindnedness
Voters who are open to going beyond their ideological favorites can change the outcome of close races. For candidates, this highlights an important strategy under the new system: election can hinge on being perceived as open to other perspectives. That doesn’t mean abandoning your principles — but it does mean demonstrating a willingness to listen, engage, and collaborate across ideological divides.
city services in focus: what matters most to portlanders?
If you ask Portlanders what they want from city government, the answers aren’t vague. Over and over again, residents highlight the same core priorities: safe streets, reliable emergency services, affordable housing, and better support services for homeless people. In the past year, Portland has been making quiet but measurable progress on many of the services people say matter most.
portland’s first budget process under a new form of government: how did we do?
What lessons can we (city government, elected officials and the community at large) take away from this first budget process under our new system? How should we measure success, or at least progress, in creating an optimal process for considering constituent requests in the context of citywide needs and priorities?
portland votes, data speaks: insights from portland’s first rcv election
Virtual briefing with Moon Duchin and Chris Donnay from the Data and Democracy Lab.
how did portland voters respond to the city’s first ranked-choice ballot?
Questions hovered ahead of the November 2024 election about how Portland voters would respond to the City’s new ranked choice ballot. Now that the election is behind us, we can begin to answer some of these questions using ballot data and post-election polling results.
portland’s first ranked-choice election: a closer look
Virtual briefing with guest speakers Miranda Everitt (FM3), Shannon Grimes (Sightline) and Will Mantel (FairVote).
6 good things to expect from portland's ranked choice voting election
Here are six benefits to anticipate from Portland’s city council elections this fall.