Ranked choice voting enhances electoral fairness by requiring winning candidates to secure majority support, encouraging broader voter appeal, and fostering a more diverse candidate pool, thus creating a more inclusive and competitive democratic process.
Ohio’s constitution provides cities and counties with “home rule” authority to manage their own affairs, including local election methods. However, SB 63 would punish local governments adopting ranked choice voting by making them ineligible to receive Local Government Fund money until they abandon it. This applies to cities passing charter amendments, ordinances, or resolutions supporting the system, establishing a risky precedent.
Senate Bill 63
Senate Bill 63, co-sponsored by Republican Senator Theresa Gavarone and Democrat Senator Bill DeMora, would ban ranked-choice voting in all statewide Ohio elections. While municipalities and chartered counties could conduct ranked-choice elections under a 1923 Ohio Supreme Court decision, those entities choosing to do so would become ineligible to receive Local Government Fund distributions.
Sponsors of the ban argue that ranked-choice voting is confusing, inefficient, and delays the publication of election results. They use the example of Portland’s recent city elections. With 52 candidates running for city council and 19 for mayor, voters were faced with ballots that were four pages long. This led to more than 73,000 Portlanders—about 20% of the population—not casting a single vote for a city council candidate.
Opponents cite a 2021 study by FairVote that found ranked-choice voting led to increased voter participation in local elections, particularly in diverse and historically underrepresented communities, and encouraged more positive campaigning, as candidates must appeal to a broader base of voters to secure second- and third-choice rankings.
Senate Bill 63 proposes to do the following:
- Prohibits any election from being conducted in Ohio using ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting.
- Allows a county or municipal corporation to use its home rule powers under the Ohio Constitution to adopt a ranked choice voting system but financially penalizes a local government that does so.
- Makes a county or municipal corporation that approves the use of ranked choice voting via a resolution or ordinance ineligible to receive distributions from the Local Government Fund until it rescinds the resolution or ordinance.
- Provides procedures for the Secretary of State, the Tax Commissioner, and county treasurers to follow in enforcing the penalty.
Bill history in Senate General Government Committee:
Senate Bill 63 was introduced on January 28, 2025 and referred to the General Government Committee. During hearings, members received testimony from 12 proponent witnesses, 66 opponents, and 1 interested party (Cuyahoga County Board of Elections).
Proponents included Heritage Action for America, Heartland Impact, former Ohio Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell on behalf of the America First Policy Institute, and the Opportunity Solutions Project (c4 arm of right-wing nonprofit Foundation for Government Accountability).
Opponents were comprised of mostly individual citizens, but also included Ohio Environmental Council, the Ohio Municipal League, and Common Cause Ohio.
The bill was introduced during the last General Assembly, but did not pass. It was favorably reported out of Senate General Government Committee on April 30, 2025 and passed by a vote of 27-5 on the Senate floor on May 14, 2025.
The DNC is forbidding any state that has not yet used ranked choice voting from using it for their presidential primary.
What is ranked choice voting?
Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Their votes are then redistributed to the remaining candidates based on the voters' next preferences. This process repeats until one candidate secures a majority and wins. A voter can continue to only choose one candidate if they prefer. There is no requirement to return to the polls for a runoff election, votes transfer instantly since voters have already ranked their preferences.
What are Ohio cities currently doing?
No Ohio cities currently use ranked-choice voting systems. Cleveland Heights is likely to place a ranked-choice amendment on the November ballot, according to Denise Riley, executive director of Ranked Choice Ohio. Other communities are considering them, including Cincinnati and several Northeast Ohio cities: Hudson, Lakewood, Kent and Stow.
What are other states doing?
Several states are moving to limit or ban ranked choice voting this year. Earlier this month, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong signed a law banning the practice statewide. Lawmakers in Arkansas, Georgia, Iowa and Texas are also considering similar bans.
However, Maine and Alaska used ranked choice voting in the last presidential election, and 47 cities like New York City and Minneapolis used it for local races.
Why do opponents of RCV talk about Alaska?
Ranked choice voting made national headlines after former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin lost to Democrat Mary Peltola in a 2022 special congressional election. President Donald Trump panned it as a "total rigged deal" during a rally for Palin, and many Republicans blamed ranked choice for her defeat. Alaska voters narrowly rejected an effort to repeal the law last year.