City Of Portland: City Determines Winner Of At-Large Council Race In Public By Lot

Press release from the City of Portland:

November 4, 2021

Candidate Roberto Rodriguez submitted an official request for a manual recount shortly after 11:00 AM. The recount has been scheduled for Tuesday, November 9 from 8:00 AM - 3:00 PM at Ocean Gateway. If a second day is needed, the recount will continue on Wednesday, November 10. 

Mazer and Rodriguez were two of the four candidates in the November 2, 2021 municipal election for At-Large City Council. Because none of the four candidates received more than 50% of the vote, election officials used ranked-choice voting instant runoff in accordance with the City’s rules to determine a winner. The runoff, which was confirmed and reconfirmed by officials with Elections Systems & Software and MK Elections, resulted in a tie, with both candidates receiving 8,529 votes each.  

 ranked-choice voting instant runoff

Under the City’s Charter and the rules adopted for how to administer ranked-choice voting, in the case of a tie, “the City Clerk shall determine the winner in public by lot” (a method of making a decision or selection by choosing something, often slips of paper, at random). The City’s rules were adopted in 2011 in conjunction with the Charter amendments adopting ranked-choice voting, among other things. 

The City released the unofficial election results around 1:00 AM on November 3. They can be viewed here. 

This press release was produced by the City of Portland. The views expressed here are the author’s own.