All four ballot measures to institute alternative voting systems passed on November 7. Oakland, California, passed IRV for city office by 68%. Minneapolis passed IRV for city office by 65%.

Two more advanced forms seem to have passed narrowly. In Pierce County, Washington (that state’s 2nd most populous county, which contains Tacoma), all partisan county offices will apparently no longer have partisan primaries. Instead, there will be a single election in November, using IRV. Although ballot access will be easy for all candidates, party labels will be restricted to those candidates who had won their party’s nomination by convention, in advance of the election. Pierce County now more closely approximates the systems used by Ireland and the Australia than any other jurisdiction in the U.S. The Pierce County measure was the only one affecting partisan elections. Thanks to Bob Richard for helping make this post more accurate.

Finally, Davis passed advisory measure L (with 55%), which provides for Single Transferrable Vote for multi-winner offices such as City Council-at-large. Like all California elections for city office, Davis uses non-oartisan elections. However, Davis will now apparently share the characteristic of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under which an organized minority of voters can place a candidate on the city council if that minority comprises approximately 25% (in Cambridge the threshold is lower than 25%, because Cambridge elects more members to its city council).