Oak Park residents have voted to implement ranked choice voting, which allows voters to choose candidates in order of preference for village board elections.
Now that the referendum has passed, RCV will be used starting in April 2027. This method of voting includes the village trustees and village president, but not the village clerk.
According to results from the Cook County Clerk’s Office, of the 32 precincts in Oak Park and 39,728 registered local voters, 20,684 residents voted “Yes” on the binding referendum. Only 5,436 residents voted against it.
In Oak Park, village president hopefuls will have to receive 50% of the vote plus one of first rankings to win. Candidates for village trustee only have to receive 25% plus one of first rankings to win. If no candidate passes the respective thresholds, RCV will come into play.
In that case, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated. Voters who ranked that candidate first will have their votes transferred to their second choice. It repeats until one candidate emerges victorious.
Some Oak Park trustees seemed unsure about the referendum at a village board meeting Oct. 22. Trustee Cory Wesley asked about how the referendum language could be refined if needed, calling it “potentially problematic.” He and others wondered about filling vacancies on the table, should they occur.
The current referendum language reads that “In the event of a Village Board vacancy, Ranked Choice Voting shall be used, and the percentage required for a candidate to be elected shall be based on the number of vacancies.”
The only way to modify the now approved referendum is through another referendum, where voters will have to decide. The village board cannot vote to modify it themselves.
Oak Park is the second municipality in Illinois to adopt ranked choice voting for local elections. Evanston was the first, in November 2022, and is expected to implement the system in April 2025.
In Peoria, the local township had an advisory referendum asking if voters would like ranked choice voting statewide. It passed with 67% of voters in favor, according to FairVote Illinois.