2019-030 Ranked-Choice VotingDate: February 22, 2019 Report No. 2019-030
INFORMAL STAFF REPORT
TO MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
Provide information regarding ranked-choice voting.
BACKGROUND:
At the State of the City event on January 17, 2019, a resident asked whether the City of Denton
would consider a ranked-choice voting system for elected officials. In this type of system, also
known as “instant-runoff voting,” voters rank all the candidates for a given office by their
preference – first choice, second choice, etc. The votes are first tallied based on the first choice on
every ballot. If no single candidate wins a first-round majority of the votes, then the candidate with
the lowest number of votes is eliminated and another round of vote tallying commences. If a voter’s
first choice is eliminated, then the vote goes to the second choice and so on. Eventually, one
candidate receives a majority (over 50 percent) and wins the election.1
DISCUSSION:
To answer the question from the State of the City event, the short answer is no, the City of Denton
cannot move to an instant runoff system for its municipal elections. Section 1.002 of the Texas
Election Code expressly preempts local laws regarding elections unless the Election Code
expressly provides otherwise. Additionally, Section 3.05 of our Charter states that”… all city
elections shall be governed by the Election Code…” This means that with a few exceptions, the
Election Code sets the rules that we must follow for our local elections.
The Texas Election Code defines two types of voting systems allowed in Texas:
• Plurality system: The candidate who polls more votes than any other candidate is elected.
• Majority system: A candidate must receive more votes than all other candidates combined.
Section 2.001 of the Texas Election Code generally requires a plurality vote for individuals to be
elected to a public office. There are three exceptions to this which make a majority vote required:
1) cities with a population over 200,000; 2) if the terms are for more than two years; or 3) if a
home-rule city has a charter which states otherwise (Election Code Section 275.002).
We fall in the third exception because Section 3.04 of our Charter states that candidates must
receive a majority of the votes cast for each place to be declared elected. This makes us one of the
cities requiring a “majority vote” and means that the sections of the Election Code pertaining to
majority vote elections apply to the City of Denton.
Section 2.021 of the Election Code states that if no candidate for a particular office receives the
vote necessary to be elected in an election requiring a majority vote, a runoff election for that office
is required. The Election Code also lays out specific procedures and timelines for how a runoff
election must be held. Additionally, the Election Code is interpreted by the Texas Secretary of
1 Description from the National Conference of State Legislatures. http://www.ncsl.org/research/elections-and-
campaigns/alternative-voting-systems.aspx
Date: February 22, 2019 Report No. 2019-030
State which issued the attached official opinion clarifying that ranked voting is not allowed in
Texas.2
CONCLUSION:
Since the Election Code pre-empts us from holding a runoff other than in the manner laid out in
the Election Code, and the Texas Secretary of State has issued a formal opinion stating ranked
voting is not allowed, we currently do not have authority to move to an instant runoff system for
our local elections.
STAFF CONTACT:
Stuart Birdseye
Management Analyst
Stuart.Birdseye@cityofdenton.com
City Attorney’s Office:
Stephanie Neal
Assistant City Attorney
Stephanie.Neal@cityofdenton.com
2 Section 31.004(a) of the Texas Election Code (the "Code") provides that, "The Secretary of State shall assist and
advise all election authorities with regard to the application, operation, and interpretation of this code and of the
election laws outside of this code."