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Kyle Herman published Toledo Blade: "Gavarone targets voter choice, democracy" (2/10/25) in In The News 2025-04-21 12:25:24 -0400
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Kyle Herman published A Second Chance For Cincinnati’s Third Party (1/15/25) in In The News 2025-04-21 10:05:55 -0400
A Second Chance For Cincinnati’s Third Party (1/15/25)
New Charter Committee leaders think the time is right to return to Murray Seasongood’s good government principles from 100 years ago by bringing back Ranked Choice Voting: https://www.cincinnatimagazine.com/article/a-second-chance-for-cincinnatis-third-party/
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Kyle Herman published Sign for Updates on RCV in Riverside in Sign to Support RCV 2025-04-21 08:07:00 -0400
Sign for Updates on Ranked Choice Voting in Riverside
Help grow awareness for Ranked Choice Voting in Riverside!
Add signatureA majority of Riverside City Council voted to put a charter amendment for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) on the ballot in 2024, however they fell short of the necessary supermajority. RCV is a simple upgrade to the way we vote that's increasingly popular in other cities and states as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule:
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Riverside:
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Local Initiatives
Support for Ranked Choice Voting has been growing in cities of all sizes across Ohio, including through Charter Review Commissions, City Councils, and Citizen Initiatives. Learn more about recent efforts in each city and sign up for updates:
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Kyle Herman published Sign for Updates on RCV in Cincinnati in Sign to Support RCV 2025-04-21 07:18:37 -0400
Sign for Updates on Ranked Choice Voting in Cincinnati
Help grow awareness for Ranked Choice Voting in Cincinnati!
Add signatureA group of citizens led by the Charter Committee of Cincinnati is exploring a ballot initiative to bring Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) back to Cincinnati!
RCV was used in Cincinnati between 1925 and 1957 before it was repealed because the corrupt party bosses of the time did not like that RCV improved representation for African Americans and for a greater diversity of political views. Cincinnati's Charter Committee, an independent organization founded in 1924, led the 1925 initiative to pass RCV, and is working with other good governance groups like the Murray & Agnes Seasongood Foundation and Ohio Citizen Action to restore RCV 100 years after it originally passed.
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Cincinnati:
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Kyle Herman published Sign for Updates on RCV in Cleveland Heights in Sign to Support RCV 2025-04-16 08:47:07 -0400
Sign for Updates on Ranked Choice Voting in Cleveland Heights
Help grow awareness for Ranked Choice Voting in Cleveland Heights!
Add signatureRanked Choice Voting (RCV) was recommended by Cleveland Heights' Charter Review Commission (CRC) in 2024, and Cleveland Heights City Council is considering putting a Charter Amendment for RCV on the ballot for the November 2025 Election. RCV is a simple upgrade to the way we vote that's increasingly popular in other cities and states as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule:
Cleveland Heights' language for RCV is in Section 7.6 of this broader charter amendment (page 3). Their CRC also provided research and analysis in support of their amendment in this report. You can use our Charter Amendments Guide to share ideas with Cleveland Heights City Council.
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Cleveland Heights:
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Kyle Herman published Sign for Updates on RCV in Kent in Sign to Support RCV 2025-04-15 09:16:37 -0400
Sign for Updates on Ranked Choice Voting in Kent
Help grow awareness for Ranked Choice Voting in Kent!
Add signatureEvery 10 years, the City of Kent convenes a Charter Review Committee (CRC) to study the City Charter (Kent's Constitution) and make recommendations for improvements based on best practices and community feedback. Kent's 2025 CRC has an opportunity to recommend Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule:
Kent residents can give input to Kent's CRC by emailing Kent's Clerk of Council at [email protected]. You can share or draw ideas from Rank the Vote Ohio's Guide for Charter Amendments. If Kent's CRC recommends a Charter Amendment for RCV, then Kent's Council will decide whether to allow Kent's voters to vote on whether they are ready for more choice and more voice with RCV.
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Kent:
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Kyle Herman published Sign for Updates on RCV in Hudson in Sign to Support RCV 2025-04-13 08:11:05 -0400
Sign for Updates on Ranked Choice Voting in Hudson
Help grow awareness for Ranked Choice Voting in Hudson!
Add signature- Hudson's Charter Review Commission (CRC) is seeking citizen input, which gives residents an opportunity to voice their support for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV).
- RCV is a simple upgrade to the way we vote that's increasingly popular in other cities and states as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule.
- You can use this form to give your input by April 30, and choose Section Number 7.03 Elections from the dropdown menu: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/b1a9b09f0bde466e9256845aacbe8082.
Hudson's elections are nonpartisan, and RCV could help incentivize Hudson's elected officials to prioritize working together on local nonpartisan issues instead of engaging in divisive partisanship. Two Hudson Councilmembers from different parties have already spoken to Hudson's CRC about their bipartisan support for RCV.
RCV solves a problem with Ohio's current election system that has already affected Hudson: Ohio's current pick-one plurality-wins system limits voters' choices and fails to require a majority to win. In 2019, a four-way race for Hudson City Council was won with only 38.76% of votes, meaning more than 61% of voters preferred other candidates. RCV solves this problem by requiring a majority to win. If no candidate receives more than 50%, RCV enables an Instant Runoff: The lowest-performing candidate is eliminated, and if they were your first choice, your vote will simply transfer to your second choice instead of being wasted. This is similar to how other cities and states use traditional runoffs, but instead of having an expensive and wasteful low-turnout special election, RCV gives you the freedom to express your backup choices on a single ballot so they can be counted automatically if a runoff is necessary.
Hudson's CRC meetings are open to the public at City Hall (1140 Terex Rd), and residents are invited to give public comment in-person or email questions to [email protected]. You can share or draw ideas from Rank the Vote Ohio's Guide for Charter Amendments. The next few meetings are scheduled for 7pm on April 16, May 7, & June 4. If Hudson's CRC recommends a charter amendment for RCV, then Hudson's Council will decide whether to allow Hudson's voters to vote on whether they are ready for more choice and more voice with RCV.
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Hudson:
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Sign for Updates on Ranked Choice Voting in Stow
Help grow awareness for Ranked Choice Voting in Stow!
Add signatureStow's Charter Review Commission (CRC) began discussing Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) during their 4/9/25 meeting. RCV is a simple upgrade to the way we vote that's increasingly popular in other cities and states as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule:
Try RCV: Rank Stow's Mexican Restaurants (view results)
As reported by the Stow Sunshine Project, Stow's CRC voted to recommend RCV as the "most requested change" of all the ideas the CRC reviewed. Now Stow's Council will decide whether to allow Stow's voters to vote on whether they are ready for more choice and more voice with RCV.
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Stow:
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Kyle Herman published Sign for Updates on RCV in Lakewood in Sign to Support RCV 2025-04-10 12:33:23 -0400
Sign for Updates on RCV in Lakewood
Help Rank the Vote Lakewood grow local awareness and support for Ranked Choice Voting!
Follow on Facebook, Instagram, and Bluesky
Add signatureRanked Choice Voting (RCV) was recommended by Lakewood's Charter Review Commission (CRC) in 2024, and Lakewood City Council is considering putting a Charter Amendment for RCV on the ballot for the November 2025 Election. RCV is a simple upgrade to the way we vote that's increasingly popular in other cities and states as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule:
Lakewood's language for RCV is in Article 9 in Exhibit F of their CRC's Final Report (starting in section d on page 16). You can also use our Charter Amendments Guide to share ideas with Lakewood City Council.
Sign below for updates and invite your friends from Lakewood:
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Charter Amendments
Share our Resources for Charter Amendments with Charter Review Commissions and City Councils:
Background: For more than a century, Ohio’s charter cities have exercised their Home Rule Authority under the Ohio Constitution to choose how they elect their own leaders. The Ohio Supreme Court has ruled that this includes charter cities’ right to use Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), as several Ohio cities have done. RCV is recommended as a best practice by the National Civic League’s Model City Charter and by the League of Women Voters of Ohio as a more truly free and fair alternative to our current pick-one plurality-wins system. RCV has been used successfully in many jurisdictions and has become increasingly popular in recent years as a way to give voters more choices while upholding majority rule.
About Ranked Choice Voting: RCV is a simple upgrade to our ballots that empowers voters to rank multiple candidates instead of choosing only one. An Instant Runoff ensures the winner has majority support in single-winner races such as mayor or ward seats, and RCV enables Proportional Representation for multi-winner races such as council-at-large.Benefits of RCV: RCV allows more candidates to run without fear of being labeled a ‘spoiler.’ RCV gives voters the freedom to vote for their true first choice without fear of ‘wasting’ their vote or helping the candidate they like least. This strengthens election integrity by giving voters more choices and more confidence that their votes will actually matter. RCV incentivizes politicians to run more civil campaigns and work together for the common good in order to win broad support.
Recent Efforts in Ohio Cities:
- Cleveland Heights: RCV was recommended by their Charter Review Commission (CRC) in 2024 and is still under consideration by their Council for if/when they will put an amendment on the ballot. Cleveland Heights' language for RCV is in Section 7.6 of this broader charter amendment (page 3). Their CRC also provided research and analysis in support of their amendment in this report.
- Lakewood: RCV was recommended by their CRC in 2024 and is still under consideration by their Council for if/when they will put an amendment on the ballot. Lakewood's language for RCV is in Article 9 in Exhibit F of their CRC's Final Report (starting in section d on page 16). Rather than mandating RCV, Lakewood's CRC crafted their amendment to give their Council the option to implement RCV via ordinance (as explained starting on page 8 of their report).
- Cincinnati: The Charter Committee of Cincinnati, an independent organization founded in 1924 to advocate for good government, is exploring a 2025 ballot initiative to bring RCV back to Cincinnati.
- Hudson, Kent, & Stow: These three neighboring cities each convened their CRCs in 2025 and are exploring charter amendments for RCV.
- Riverside: A majority of Council voted to put a charter amendment for RCV on the ballot in 2024, however they fell short of the necessary supermajority.
- University Heights: RCV was recommended by their CRC in 2023 but did not receive enough Council votes to proceed to the ballot.
Resources for Charter Language: In addition to examples from the cities above, our national partner FairVote has model charter language. FairVote’s Legal Roundtable is available as a free resource to review draft language so that they can provide feedback based on their experience assisting other cities.Barriers to RCV: RCV has historically faced opposition from party bosses on both sides who seek to suppress competition. Their main argument is that voters are not smart enough to rank their choices, but this concern has been debunked by the vast majority of voters who have used RCV because they say RCV is “simple” and want to keep using it. Putting a charter amendment for RCV on the ballot simply empowers voters to decide if they are ready to rank their choices.
Responding to State-Level Ban Bills: Politicians from deep red and deep blue districts have introduced legislation attempting to ban RCV, however, analysts have pointed out that such legislation is unlikely to pass or to withstand legal challenges because it violates the Ohio Constitution by stealing Local Government Funds in attempt to coerce cities to give up their Home Rule Authority.
Responding to Boards of Elections: Since 2023, Rank the Vote Ohio has worked with the Ohio Association of Election Officials to offer itself and its national partners such as FairVote and the RCV Resource Center to help Ohio’s Boards of Elections adapt to RCV as they have in other states. As of 2025, all voting equipment used in Ohio is already being used to implement RCV in cities in other states. Election officials have confirmed that if a charter city passes an amendment for RCV, the Ohio Board of Voting Machine Examiners will begin the certification process for RCV-capable software, with costs covered by the state.
About Us: Rank the Vote Ohio is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit founded in 2020 by volunteers from across Ohio to educate fellow Buckeyes about RCV. Through in-person and online outreach, we mobilize volunteers from across the political spectrum in support of “greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Ohioans.” Our Ohio-based nonprofit is part of Rank the Vote’s national coalition working to lay the groundwork for local and statewide initiatives for RCV. As of 2025, we’ve gained more than 21,000 registered supporters in Ohio.
Contact: Rank the Vote Ohio gives free presentations and consultations. To learn more, email our Leadership Team at [email protected].
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Annual Report
2024 Annual Report
Background: Rank the Vote Ohio (RTVO) was founded by volunteers in 2020 as a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit organization for the purpose of educating Ohioans about Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) and its benefits.
Mission: “To give voters greater choice, a stronger voice, and a representative democracy that works for all Ohioans.”
Executive Director: Denise Riley
Board Members: Chris Anderson, Kyle Herman, Grace Leng, Torika Thompson, Dan Zavon
Summary: In 2024, RTVO focused on assisting local initiatives for RCV, worked to broaden the ideological diversity of our supporter base, and raised $40,000 from in-state contributions to reach a matching goal and become more financially self-sufficient. For 2025, RTVO expects even more opportunities to support local initiatives, anticipates continued defense against attempts to ban RCV, and plans to restructure and decentralize in order to be more authentically grassroots-driven and responsive to citizens and communities in Ohio that want to pursue RCV.
Progress in 2024:
Increased from 16,000 to more than 20,000 registered supporters. While RTVO’s funding for organizers decreased from 2023, and our focus shifted away from statewide list-building and toward more focused outreach to certain communities, our organizers and volunteers were still able to recruit more than 4,300 new supporters through canvassing, tabling, presentations, and online outreach and social media.Raised more than $40,000 from in-state donations. RTVO was offered a matching grant from an anonymous donor in February 2024, with a goal to raise $40,000 in order to unlock a matching grant for $40,000 by December 15. Through various fundraising tactics including email blasts, dialing-for-dollars, textbanking, grant-writing, in-person events (like “rank your beers” parties), and personal asks, RTVO was able to surpass the goal, with $42,613 raised from nearly 200 individuals during the grant period.
Helped advance charter amendments for RCV to consideration by three city councils:
- Cleveland Heights: RCV was recommended by the Charter Review Commission (CRC) and is still under consideration by Council for if/when they will put an amendment on the ballot.
- Lakewood: RCV was recommended by the CRC and is still under consideration by Council for if/when they will put an amendment on the ballot.
- Riverside: A majority of Council (including the Mayor, who serves as the presiding officer) voted to put a charter amendment for RCV on the ballot, however they later realized that because they had not followed the formal CRC process, they would have needed a supermajority to put the amendment on the ballot. Additionally, the Mayor and Council received unclear feedback from the Montgomery County Board of Elections about whether the Board would update its machines with software to facilitate RCV.
Defended against two ban bills at the Ohio Statehouse. RTVO mobilized disciplined opposition to SB 137 (a bill to “generally prohibit” RCV and financially punish cities that use it) during hearings held by the Senate General Government Committee in February and April. In total, more than 60 individuals or organizations submitted opponent testimony (most of whom were individual Ohioans), compared to only 14 proponents (most of whom were out-of-state lobbyists). We received positive coverage on Toledo’s local 13 Action News after the February hearing. We sent a follow-up to members of the committee addressing questions raised during their April 24 hearing, and the bill remained stalled in committee.
In November, HB 684 was introduced and referred to the House Government Oversight Committee, with sponsor testimony on November 20. RTVO contacted all the committee members prior to the meeting to offer ourselves as a resource and to flag that the Statehouse’s Legislative Service Commission had warned that HB 684 was unconstitutional because its outright ban of RCV at the city level was contrary to Ohio Supreme Court precedents that upheld municipalities’ home rule authority to use RCV. Several of the committee members raised questions to the sponsors about the constitutionality of this infringement on home rule, and one of the sponsors responded that perhaps they should do a constitutional amendment so the whole state could vote to ban RCV.
Ideologically-diverse coalition-building. RTVO made a conscious effort to try to reach an ideologically diverse array of voters, with recognition that Ohio seemed to be a center-right state in recent elections. We tried to find places with conservative audiences to help keep our outreach ideologically diverse. Our public messaging and social media is nonpartisan, but frequently features conservative supporters and conservative arguments for RCV. RTVO helped organize the first theatrical screening of Majority Rules in Ohio and attempted to recruit open-minded conservatives to learn about how RCV worked in red Alaska, where it has broad bipartisan support within its state legislature. RTVO’s September Statewide Meeting focused on a panel of leaders from nonpartisan civic groups about how to bridge divides in partisan times. Our Featured Speaker for our October Statewide Meeting was a Republican who had served as County Commissioner in Seneca County. RTVO helped arrange for former Utah Republican Party Chair Stan Lockhart to meet with Republican leaders in Cincinnati. Riverside's Mayor and another Republican joined two Democratic Councilmembers to vote in favor of putting their charter amendment for RCV on the ballot.
Priorities for 2025:
Advise municipal campaigns for RCV. Without a visible path to a statewide ballot initiative in the foreseeable future (unless a hero emerges with the tens of millions of dollars that ballot initiatives cost), RTVO will focus on assisting local initiatives by providing charter review commissions, city councils, civic groups, and the general public with education, advice, and connections with potential allies. In addition to building upon RTVO’s progress in 2024 with Cleveland Heights, Lakewood, and Riverside, RTVO will hold its January Statewide Meeting in conjunction with an in-person Cincinnati Chapter Launch to build a grassroots team to work with the Charter Committee of Cincinnati as they lead a signature-collection campaign for RCV. RTVO is also seeking opportunities to present RCV for consideration by charter review commissions and councils in other cities.
Defend against further attempts to ban RCV. While RTVO was able to help stall SB 137 and HB 684 until they expired at the end of the 2024, we expect ban bills to be reintroduced in some form in 2025 because partisan oligarchs are deeply invested in attempts to ban RCV. RTVO plans to monitor such bills and mobilize testimony against them with disciplined messaging similar to the testimony given by volunteers in 2024.
Reorganize structurally to be more grassroots-driven than donor-driven. We are grateful to the major donor for giving us the $40,000 matching challenge to encourage RTVO to become more self-sufficient by focusing on raising in-state funding in 2024. We are also grateful for the advice and consultations we received through our relationship with the donor. For most of 2023 and 2024, Rank the Vote Ohio’s leadership tried to align organizational messaging strategically in accordance with “insider” political analysis in an attempt to avoid provoking hostility from legislators and in attempt to avoid “unforced errors” that could harm a future statewide initiative. We now understand that in order to be a more truly self-sustaining grassroots organization, RTVO needs to decentralize its leadership so that major decisions can be made more collectively by grassroots supporters, while accountability mechanisms must also be developed to facilitate an environment of trust based on informed, strategic, and action-oriented cooperation among members. We plan to invite all supporters to a “Fun, Food, and Friendship” community-building social retreat in February 2025. This will be followed by a Volunteer Strategy Forum in March, for which we plan to hire a professional facilitator to guide us through a democratic process to brainstorm ideas to make Rank the Vote Ohio more authentically grassroots and membership-driven.
2024 Finances:
Total Revenue: $125,748.25
Total Expenditures: $48,887.61
Organizers: $40,000.00
Outreach activities: $6,882.81
Administrative: $2,004.80
After receiving and spending $80,000 from an anonymous donor to hire Organizers and launch regional chapters in 2023, RTVO received $40,000 from Anonymous in February 2024 along with an offer to match up to $40,000 raised by December 15. This was double the $20,000 RTVO raised from grassroots supporters in 2023. While RTVO had exponentially grown its supporter list through live outreach in 2023, RTVO retained less organizers and was more conservative with its spending in 2024. With the lower budget, RTVO spent more time and energy focused on fundraising to reach the matching goal so that RTVO could afford to retain organizers in 2025 – amidst uncertainty over whether more consistent funding sources could be identified. RTVO explored and applied for various grants, ultimately receiving $5,000 from the Cincinnati-based Murray & Agnes Seasongood Foundation, which we put toward the organizer hired in October to lead and grow a Cincinnati Chapter.
Special Thanks to Major Donors:
Murray & Agnes Seasongood Foundation: $5,000
Dan Zavon: $5,000
Evan & Jackie Williams Family Fund: $4,000
Michael Cristal: $2,500
Grace Leng and Scott Ellis: $1,500
Mike Ahern: $1,000
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Kyle Herman published Cleveland Heights charter remains under review, with sights on next year’s ballot in In The News 2024-12-30 17:55:39 -0500
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Kyle Herman published Lakewood Charter Review Commission Recommendations Include Ranked Choice Voting in In The News 2024-12-30 17:51:07 -0500
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Kyle Herman published VOICES: Ranked-Choice Voting: A proven improvement to the way we vote in In The News 2024-11-21 21:19:36 -0500
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Kyle Herman published VOICES: As Riverside considers charter amendment, meaningful conversations more important than ever (8/15/24) in In The News 2024-11-21 21:17:18 -0500
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Kyle Herman published Dayton Daily News: What is Ranked-Choice Voting - and can it improve our elections? (8/15/24) in In The News 2024-11-21 21:14:39 -0500
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Kyle Herman published Dayton Daily News: Ranked-choice voting offers clear advantages — and faces stiff opposition in In The News 2024-11-21 20:52:47 -0500
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Kyle Herman published Ohio Capital Journal: Out-of-state, conservative organizations lead charge to ban ranked choice voting in Ohio in In The News 2024-11-21 20:48:11 -0500
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Kyle Herman published All Sides with Anna Staver: The future of voting in Ohio in In The News 2023-12-13 09:56:50 -0500
Public Profile
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Kyle Herman
Exec Director @RankTheVoteOhio #RankedChoiceVoting. Formerly @NDI, @ObamaWhiteHouse, high school civics teacher. @Kennedy_School & @OhioWesleyan. Views my own.