Summary
The council rejected a charter change that would have replaced separate runoff elections with ranked-choice voting, after the county clerk said runoffs cost up to $1.8 million and supporters said RCV saves money and broadens consensus. Critics said it's confusing and costly. It failed 6-3.
At a glance
- Total mentions
- 2
- Last 30 days
- 0
Last discussed Apr 6, 2026.
Impact analysis
Runoffs have cost the city about $500,000 to $1.8 million each; RCV backers said it would avoid those costs.
If it had passed, voters would have avoided a second trip to the polls and the city would save runoff costs.
Opponents worried voters would face confusion, new costs and delayed results under RCV.
Mentions & discussions (2)
City Council — April 6, 2026
The council rejected a charter change that would have replaced separate runoff elections with ranked-choice voting, after the county clerk said runoffs cost up to $1.8 million and supporters said RCV saves money and broadens consensus. Critics said it's confusing and costly. It failed 6-3.
City Council — March 16, 2026
A motion to bring back the ranked choice voting ordinance for a vote in April failed 4-5, keeping the city's expensive runoff system in place.
We'll email you when it's on an upcoming agenda and when it's voted on, at most once a day.
The weekly brief for Albuquerque
What the council decided, in plain English — one email a week.
Free. Unsubscribe with one click any time. We never sell your email.