Richmond voters will decide in November if the city will change how it elects its mayor and City Council in 2026 and beyond.
Candidates now win elections in Richmond by simply getting the most votes, also known as the plurality system. That could change if voters enact Measure J or Measure L. Both measures require majority votes to be approved, and if both pass, the measure receiving the most votes will be implemented, city officials said.
Measure J asks voters if they want to amend the city’s charter by requiring winners to have at least 50% of the vote. If no candidate gets the majority of the vote in a primary election, the measure would change the system so the two candidates with the most votes face each other in the fall general election.
Measure J was placed on the November ballot after an initiative petition received enough signatures.
The ballot arguments made for Measure J note that the format is already used for county supervisor, state legislative and federal elections in California. The proponents say a primary system of voting is “easy to administer, inexpensive, easy to audit, and easy to understand. That means more people will participate and more Richmond voices will be heard.”
They say the system’s 50% threshold will force candidates to reach out to more voters and give them a chance to see clear distinctions between the two top candidates, with more time to see debates and get information.
Measure J’s prominent supporters include former mayor Tom Butt, former councilmembers Maria Theresa Viramontes and Jeff Ritterman, and Benjamin Therriault, the president of the Richmond Police Officers Association.
Opponents call it a ‘power grab’
The opponents on the ballot argument against Measure J called it “a power grab” that disenfranchises voters of color and will “benefit the biggest polluters in Northern California.”
The anti-Measure J side says it would create a system that benefits the “rich and the powerful,” would be expensive, and would decrease voter participation with an extra election.
Measure J is opposed by Yvette Williams Barr, the Richmond chapter president of International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers Union Local 21; Gregory Everetts Jr., the Richmond chapter president of Service Employees International Union Local 1021; David Sharples, the director of Contra Costa County for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action; and Lio Meng Saeteurn, the Contra Costa political director for the Asian Pacific Environmental Network.
Measure L would create a ranked-choice election process similar to systems already in place in San Francisco and Oakland, in which candidates are eliminated through a series of instant runoffs until one emerges with a clear majority.
The other proposal on the ballot, Measure L, asks voters if they want to amend the city charter to allow ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff voting.
Ranked choice voting aims for a winner with more than 50% of the vote but it would require only one trip to the polls. Ranked choice offers voters the opportunity to rank candidates by preference on their ballots.
When votes are tallied, if a candidate wins more than 50% of first-preference votes, they’re declared the winner. But if no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. Ballots showing the eliminated candidate as their first choice are then reevaluated and counted as first-preference ballots for the next-highest-ranked candidate in that round.
The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority.
More voter participation or greater confusion?
Proponents in the ballot argument for Measure L, which was placed on the ballot by the City Council, say it would ensure the will of the majority in a single election and strengthen democracy. They say it eliminates “spoiler candidates,” maximizes voter turnout and is used throughout California and Canada.
Supporters also say it saves money and creates a stronger, more diverse group of candidates and makes elections less negative.
Measure L’s supporters include Richmond Mayor Eduardo Martinez; Everetts, the Richmond chapter president of SEIU Local 1021; Catherine Skinner, an authorized representative of FairVote Action, a nonprofit that advocates for ranked choice voting; and Sharples from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment Action.
Those opposed to Measure L said in the ballot argument that it’s a failed system that enables local politicians to keep getting elected with less than 50% percent of the vote. They also say it’s overly complicated for voters and uses a closed system that’s difficult to monitor and audit.
They also say errors in the system make it easier to declare the wrong winner, which can take months to determine. They say language in the measure empowers the City Council to decide whether to implement it.
People opposing Measure L include the former councilmembers Viramontes and Ritterman; retired labor activist and union president Don Gosney; and Therriault, the Richmond police union president.