SEA-MC tit. 2, ch. 2.18 — PRIMARY ELECTIONS | Seattle Municipal Code (Supp. No. 44: codified through Ordinance No. 127459, passed June 30, 2026) — Seattle

Seattle Mun. Code § 2.18.010 Findings

2.18.010 - Findings The City Council makes the following findings of fact and declarations: A. A healthy and strong representative democracy depends on voting that allows the people to fully express their will. B. The City is empowered to provide for its own election of officers consistent with general election laws, which includes the use of a primary election to winnow candidates to a final list of two for the general election based on the number of votes cast for each candidate. C. Ranked choice voting allows voters to indicate their order of preference for the candidates running in each race and allows for the election of candidates with the greatest support from voters, better reflecting the voters' will. D. Ranked choice voting has been used successfully in elections in states and cities across the United States. (Ord. 126625, § 1, 2022)

Seattle Mun. Code § 2.18.020 Ranked choice voting

2.18.020 - Ranked choice voting Ranked choice voting shall be used in City of Seattle primary elections as soon as practicable for King County Elections. The City Council requests that King County Elections implement the provisions of this Chapter 2.18 no later than 2027 to select the top two candidates for elective offices of The City of Seattle as those offices are designated in City Charter Article XIX. A. Nominating primaries shall be conducted using the bottoms-up method of ranked choice voting. Voters shall receive ballots that enable them to rank candidates in order of preference. Each voter's ballot shall count as a single vote for whichever candidate the voter has ranked the highest. King County Elections shall count votes in rounds. In each round, the candidate who received the fewest top rankings shall be eliminated. When a candidate is eliminated, a vote cast for that candidate shall be transferred to that ballot's next-highest ranked remaining candidate and a new round of counting shall begin. Counting of top-ranked candidates and elimination of the candidate with the fewest top rankings shall continue until two candidates remain. The final two remaining candidates shall be certified as qualified to appear on the general election ballot. B. Only the two candidates nominated in the primary shall appear on the ballot of the general election, which shall be conducted in accordance with general law governing the election. C. The King County Director of Elections may limit the number of candidates that voters are able to rank, provided that voters are allowed to rank at least five candidates if at least five candidates have filed. D. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 2.18.020, if at the end of the candidate filing period two or fewer candidates have filed for an office subject to this Chapter 2.18, the election for that office may be conducted according to general law. E. For any election subject to this Chapter 2.18, King County Elections will ensure that the ballot includes appropriate instructions to voters to effectuate the purposes of this Chapter 2.18, such as: "Rank candidates in the order of your choice." (Ord. 126625, § 1, 2022)