During the 2020 general election, Minnetonka residents voted on the use of ranked choice voting for future city elections.  This is the question that appeared on the ballot: 

Shall the Minnetonka City Charter be amended to adopt Ranked Choice Voting as the method for electing the mayor and city councilmembers without a separate primary election and with ballot format and rules for counting votes to be adopted by ordinance?

Ranked choice voting adopted by Minnetonka voters

Election Day 2020 was Tuesday, Nov. 3.  Minnetonka residents voted to adopt the use of ranked choice voting for city elections (mayor and city council) beginning November 2021.

Adoption of ranked choice voting received 54.7 percent of the vote (18,475 total votes), while 45.3 percent (15,293 total) voted to reject the change and continue using the city’s current election system. The Minnetonka City Council certified the election results at a special meeting on Friday, Nov. 13.

Under ranked choice voting, voters are asked to rank mayoral and city council candidates in order of preference on their ballots, and primary elections are no longer used. Ranked choice voting only impacts mayor and city council elections. It does not change the way you vote for school board, county, state or federal offices. 

• September 2019: Residents asked the city council to implement RCV for city elections. The city council referred the issue to the charter commission for study.
• November 2019-March 2020: The charter commission began to study RCV.
• April 2020: Residents asked the city council to move the charter amendment process forward.
• June 2020: The council adopted an ordinance to amend the city’s charter to require the use of RCV for city elections. As required by law, the ordinance was submitted to the charter commission for review.
• June-July 2020: The charter commission held virtual meetings to receive information from local, county and state elections officials, review budget projections, study scholarly articles on RCV, and listen to public comment.
• July 2020: The charter commission rejected the ordinance and asked the council not to adopt ranked choice voting. 
• August 2020: The city council voted to place the issue on the November 2020 ballot to allow Minnetonka voters to decide whether to adopt RCV for city elections.
• November 2020:  Minnetonka voters adopted ranked choice voting for future city elections, 54.7 percent to 45.3 percent. 

See the "Public meetings" section for agendas, minutes and videos from each public meeting.

View these meeting materials and recordings to learn more about ranked choice voting and the process that led to its inclusion on the November 2020 election ballot. 

•  City Council Study Session - Sept. 9, 2019
  • Meeting agenda and materials
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - Nov. 12, 2019
  • Meeting agenda and materials
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - Jan. 28, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials
  • Minutes
• City Council - May 4, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials
  • Minutes
• City Council - May 18, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addenda
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - May 26, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum
  • Minutes
• City Council - June 8, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addenda
  • Minutes
  • Ordinance

• Charter Commission - June 9, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum 1 | Addendum 2
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - June 23, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - July 7, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - July 14, 2020
  • Residents were invited to attend this meeting to provide feedback.
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum 1 | Addendum 2
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - July 21, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum 1 | Addendum 2
  • Minutes
• Charter Commission - July 28, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addendum 1 | Addendum 2
  • Resolution
• City Council - Aug. 10, 2020
  • Meeting agenda and materials | Addenda
  • Minutes

Due to the adoption of ranked choice voting, city staff anticipate the need for additional administrative support and educational materials. Budget increases incurred by these additions will be subject to city council approval.

Adoption of ranked choice voting eliminates primary elections when two or more candidates run for a particular seat, resulting in cost savings. The savings depend on whether the seat is city-wide, or represents a single ward.

The city mailed a ranked choice voting brochure to every address in Minnetonka in early September 2020. 

• Web- and mobile-friendly version
• Mailed version

Minnetonka used the following system for local elections prior to the 2020 vote about ranked choice voting.

Any number of candidates could file to run for mayor or one of the six city council seats.

• Primary election
  • If more than two candidates filed for any office, there was a primary election the second Tuesday in August where voters each voted for one candidate. The top two-vote getters advanced to the general election.
  • If two or fewer candidates filed for any office, a primary wasn't needed.
  • Over the past 20 years, Minnetonka conducted four city primary elections with an average voter turnout of 4.92 percent.
    
    
• General election
  • One or two candidates for each office appeared on the general election ballot.
  • Voters selected one candidate for each office. The candidate with the most votes won the election.
  • Over the past 20 years, Minnetonka’s average general election voter turnout was 18.4 percent.