Will a Special Election Benefit Oakland?

Oakland, California is gearing up for a historic special election on April 25, 2025. In 2022, Oaklanders conducted a routine mayoral election with ranked-choice voting (RCV). This voting system proved ineffective as more than 2,000 votes were thrown away. With election day around the corner, do Oakland residents understand this special election? And have they learned how to use ranked-choice voting–a system inherently designed for accurate representation and equity?

This election follows the November 24, 2024 recall of Oakland’s former Mayor, Sheng Thao. Thao made history as the first Hmong American mayor of a United States city and served as representation for immigrants, women, and domestic violence survivors. In November 2024, the public ousted her over extreme dissatisfaction surrounding crime rates, public safety, homelessness, the firing of an esteemed police chief, and issues with overall professionalism. Shortly before the November election, the FBI raided her home as part of a corruption investigation. This citywide action solidified Oakland as the largest city to successfully recall a mayor.

Oakland is viewed as a city that craves stability. For years, Oakland’s political landscape has been marked by pendulum swings as city values shift and polarize residents. Since 2010, no mayor aside from Libby Schaaf has served more than one full term, a reflection of both the city’s high expectations for leadership and its impatience with unfulfilled promises. With such rapid transitions in the city, residents are introduced to various governing styles and political agendas but are left disappointed in the lack of meaningful and lasting change. Short-term city leaders can only accomplish so much in such short terms, but residents demand real impact that improves their day-to-day lives.

As the April special election approaches, the candidates vying for office must convince voters not only of their policies but also of their ability to bring lasting stability to a city that desperately needs it. The outcome of this race will shape whether Oakland’s next chapter is defined by continuity—or simply more uncertainty and confusion.

After a mayor is recalled, a special election is held to find a suitor to finish the previous mayor’s term. In this case, one and a half years. Current candidates in this race are former Congresswoman Barbara Lee and Loren Taylor, a former city council member and 2022 mayoral candidate, among others.

In November, a recall on the ballot was already confusing enough for some Oakland residents. “A lot of people have witnessed that our city is facing a lot of challenges in the last couple of years. They are therefore more vulnerable to kind of blame that on a mayoral candidate but don’t necessarily know what a mayor is responsible for, what a city council is responsible for, and that some of these problems are hundreds of years old,” Sara Tiras, adult leader of Oakland Youth Commission and District 4 resident said. “I don’t think [voters] realize that the new mayor only has two years, and very little can happen in two years.”

To many voters, a recall is a demonstration of proper checks and balances within a city or state. Citizens are given the power to remove their elected officials if they are experiencing dissatisfaction with their place of residence. However, these decisions, sometimes misinformed or made by passion, have major repercussions for a city.

The Alameda County Registrar estimates that a special election costs between 19 to 21 dollars per voter. This costs Oakland 4.8 million dollars for its 235,015 registered voters. Oakland currently faces a historic debt of over 100 million dollars, and even after selling its portion of the Coliseum, home of the former Oakland Athletics, it cannot fund a recall and subsequent election.

Now more than ever, Oakland residents must be checked-in to the political climate of their city, but are they?

“What’s a special election?” John P. from District 2 asked. John, alongside many Oakland voters, did not vote in the recall election. Voter turnout in local elections is at a historic low, which can make learning a new voting process, such as ranked-choice voting, difficult and disincentivizing.

Unlike traditional voting, RCV requires voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-performing candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to the voters’ next-ranked choices until a winner is determined. While designed to offer voters more choice and reduce the need for costly runoff elections, the system can have a counterintuitive effect when voters lack proper education on how it works.

“I have never been taught to vote, so when I went to go vote for the presidents and different props in November, I didn’t fully know what I was doing,” said Amber J., a District 6 resident. Amber added that she had received little formal education on RCV, particularly in high school. “Honestly, there wasn’t like a lot of education towards it.”

“I don’t think I have been taught to vote, but I’ve learned through my parents and social media,” said Julia P., a District 4 resident. However, not all voters have those resources, and depending on social media as a main source of voter information raises serious concerns about the accessibility of RCV.

A 2021 study conducted by the University of Missouri found that voter turnout in cities that use RCV can be significantly lower in communities that lack education on the system—particularly among historically marginalized groups. The study also found that more errors occur in places without comprehensive voter education, leading to an increased number of ballots being thrown away.

With Oakland’s special election approaching, voter education efforts could play a key role in determining turnout. While RCV aims to promote civic engagement, its success ultimately depends on whether voters feel confident in using it.

So as Oakland faces one of the most crucial moments in its history, the true cost of this special election is not just the monetary expense, but also in how many voices are left unheard—silenced or thrown away by confusion, mistrust, and a system that demands black and white clarity in a city filled with color.