Sacramento ranked-choice voting push could end primaries

| Elisa Nguyen | Hoodline |

Sacramento volunteers are fanning out across the city with clipboards in hand, pushing a ballot measure that could overhaul how residents pick their mayor and City Council members. The proposal would scrap the current primary-and-runoff setup and replace it with ranked-choice voting in a single November election, a shift supporters say would deliver majority winners and sidestep low-turnout spring primaries. Skeptics warn it could rewrite campaign playbooks. The effort is now formally filed with the City Clerk and out on the sidewalks as canvassers work to line up voters.

According to CBS Sacramento, volunteers are aiming for roughly 43,000 valid signatures to put the charter amendment in front of voters. Backers told the outlet the change would take effect in 2028 if it passes at the ballot box.

A nonpartisan reform meant to give residents more meaningful choices

The signature push is being led by Better Ballot Sacramento, a coalition of civic groups built around the local League of Women Voters. The group’s website says volunteers are targeting about 67,000 signatures by early June to provide a cushion above what is legally required. The League of Women Voters of Sacramento County has been publicly handling much of the education and outreach on ranked-choice voting and pitches the proposal as a nonpartisan reform meant to give residents more meaningful choices, according to the League of Women Voters of Sacramento County.

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