# San Jose City Council to consider ranked choice voting to curb costly special elections > Source: > Published: 2026-05-29 20:52:47+00:00 **Getting your** [Trinity Audio](//trinityaudio.ai)player ready...As the city [contends with a $50 million budget shortfall](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/06/san-jose-budget-deficit-hotel-tax-cuts/), San Jose is once again proposing ranked choice voting – but only to fill a vacancy if a City Councilmember or mayor leaves before the end of their term. Driven by the need to cut costs, the new push comes four years after the City Council [rejected a comprehensive plan to bring ranked choice voting to all municipal elections](https://www.mercurynews.com/2022/04/11/san-jose-wont-seek-switch-to-controversial-ranked-choice-voting/). On June 23, the council is expected to discuss a much narrower charter amendment to place on the November ballot. Supporters argue it offers a cost-effective way to fill sudden vacancies while preserving voters’ right to choose their representatives. If approved by the council and passed by voters, the measure would allow ranked choice voting as an option for future mid-term vacancies. Under ranked choice, a runoff would be unnecessary in a nonpartisan race. Instead, voters pick multiple candidates on the ballot and rank them in order of preference – first, second, third, and beyond. If no candidate wins an outright majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their ballots are redistributed to those voters’ next-preferred choices. The process repeats until a clear winner emerges. As potential program and service cuts loom during a precarious fiscal year, the memorandum cited the urgency of reducing costs associated with two-step electoral contests. With Councilmember [David Cohen pursuing a State Senate seat](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/26/david-cohen-state-senatorial-candidate-answers-bay-area-news-groups-primary-questionnaire/) and Mayor [Matt Mahan running for governor](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/02/10/mahan-california-governors-race-silicon-valley/), San Jose faces the possibility of two upcoming vacancies. Aside from a traditional special election, the city’s other options to fill mid-term vacancies are an interim or a long-term appointment. “Over the course of 2025, it became clear the city was facing a significant budget shortfall in the order of tens of millions of dollars,” the memorandum read. “That same year, the city held a special election to fill a council vacancy that, between the primary and general elections, cost $3.4 million — a price tag that exacerbated an already critical budget situation.” The memorandum was referring to the [special contest held for District 3 last year](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/06/26/tordillos-hails-landslide-victory-as-chavez-lopez-concedes-in-san-jose-city-council-district-3runoff/), a runoff won by Anthony Tordillos [following the resignation of Omar Torres](https://www.mercurynews.com/2025/04/08/san-jose-ex-council-member-omar-torres-pleads-to-child-sex-abuse-charges/), who stepped down after his arrest on child molestation charges. Although putting another measure on the November ballot could come at a cost of up to $600,000, Assistant City Manager Lee Wilcox said it would only minimally impact the budget, noting the city allocates enough funding for at least one ballot measure per election cycle. Cohen co-authored the memo with councilmembers Rosemary Kamei, Michael Mulcahy, and Tordillos. During Wednesday’s rules committee meeting, he said talks in the community about ranked choice voting were renewed following last year’s special election. “Last time we had a vacancy… there were people who actually said, ‘Can’t we do ranked choice voting, one step, in order to save money?'” Cohen said. “The charter does not allow us to even consider that option.” In 2022, Cohen and former Councilmember Sergio Jimenez championed a comprehensive ranked choice voting plan. Their effort to place a measure on the ballot, which would have implemented the system for all mayoral and City Council contests in San Jose, was ultimately unsuccessful. Cohen told this news organization this newest proposal is only for special elections as an “incremental” way to introduce the method to San Jose voters. Proponents of ranked choice voting assert the system promotes diversity, reduces mudslinging, and saves election costs because it eliminates runoffs. Critics argue ranked choice helps candidates game the system, complicates the process, disenfranchises voters such as older adults and communities of color, and takes longer to count, which could fuel conspiracy theories. The system has been gaining traction across the nation. According to the electoral advocacy organization FairVote, at least 49 jurisdictions across 22 states and Washington D.C. currently use ranked choice voting or have passed it for upcoming elections. Affecting roughly 14 million voters, the system has been adopted by major metropolitan hubs like New York City. Closer to home, Bay Area cities such as San Francisco and Oakland already use the format, where it has been met with mixed reactions. Councilmember Pam Foley, who voted against the 2022 proposal, supported moving the discussion to allow ranked choice for special elections, noting past vacancies have resulted in a “high cost to the city, but also a high cost to the candidates running.” Gabby Chavez-Lopez, who ran against Tordillos last year, urged the committee to move the proposal to the City Council for full consideration. “I saw firsthand the amount of time, energy and public resources required for a second election,” said Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latino Coalition of Silicon Valley. “I want to emphasize that this proposal does not limit the city’s options — it expands them. This simply gives another tool to fill vacancies in a more cost-effective and community-centered way.” In an [opinion piece for the Mercury News](https://www.mercurynews.com/2026/05/27/opinion-ranked-choice-voting-can-save-san-jose-taxpayers-millions/), ranked choice advocate and San Jose music teacher Jay Shuler argued that a runoff election can also result in lower turnout. “Voter turnout typically drops about 40% in runoffs, meaning a small fraction of voters make the final decision on who represents their entire community,” Shuler said. South San Jose resident Vickie Mueller Olvera said she believes the ranked choice system “gives people more voice.” “It hurts my heart when people say, ‘I don’t vote because my voice isn’t heard.’ This gives us a chance to hear more voices,” she said.