Before 2004, San Francisco had December runoffs right in the middle of the holidays. Turnout usually dropped by more than a third and so-called "independent" expenditures surged. Political consultants and big money interests were happy, but San Francisco voters said "No" by approving ranked choice voting. 

Ranked Choice Voting worked for San Francisco's voters again in 2012 by providing them with greater candidate choice and avoiding a low-turnout, costly runoff election. 

January 22, 2013 - In an op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, professors Rich DeLeon and Arend Lijphart provide a powerful argument that ranked choice voting has significantly improved elections in San Francisco.

July 27, 2012 - An effort to put a measure on the November ballot to eliminate ranked choice voting in San Francisco was killed by the Board of Supervisors, ensuring that RCV will continue to be used in citywide and district board elections.

July 25, 2012 - Following up on his 2002 study, "Do December runoffs help or hurt progressives?", Prof. Rich DeLeon confirms a conservative turnout advantage over progressives in December runoff elections.