Elections office says ranked choice voting will begin in 2028; not 2026

Humboldt County Elections office released the following statement just now.

"The Humboldt County Office of Elections announced today that ranked choice voting for the City of Eureka will begin during the 2028 election cycle instead of November 2026.

This change is the direct result of proactive system testing to ensure the voting system’s ranked choice voting capabilities meet the highest standards of precision, accuracy and state requirements before it is implemented.

In summer 2025, the Humboldt County Office of Elections hosted in-depth tabletop exercises to stress-test the planned ranked choice voting rollout. The county’s voting system was tested during these exercises. 

While the goal was to launch in 2026, testing identified limitations in the voting system’s ranked choice voting functionality that require additional updates and subsequent state certification, making implementation in 2028 necessary.

“Our tabletop exercises did exactly what they were designed to do. They showed us what it will take to get this right,” said Humboldt County Registrar of Voters Juan P. Cervantes. “We’re not going to rush implementation at the expense of systemic integrity.” 

To address these issues and build a resilient system, the Elections Office is working closely with the City of Eureka and has brought a team of experts, with experience with rolling out ranked choice voting, together for support. Key partners include:

California Secretary of State’s Office of Voting Systems Technology Assessment

City of Redondo Beach

Californians for Electoral Reform

Disability Rights California

Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center

Center for Civic Design

Democracy Rising

Accessibility and language access experts

Hart InterCivic

The Humboldt County Office of Elections continues to partner closely with Hart InterCivic, the county’s voting system vendor, who is on track to submit the required system updates to the state for certification testing in early 2027.

"Hart InterCivic is fully committed to Humboldt County's methodical implementation plan," said Julie Mathis, CEO at Hart InterCivic. "Our team is actively developing the required ranked choice voting updates for the Verity system, and we stand firmly behind our timeline to submit them for state certification in quarter one of 2027, ensuring a successful rollout in 2028." 

Due to this timeline change, City of Eureka contests in the upcoming November 2026 General Election will continue to use standard plurality voting, which means the candidate who receives the most votes will win. 

Prospective candidates are being informed of this change today during the City of Eureka’s official candidate education workshop to ensure complete transparency.

“This decision reflects our responsibility to the voters of the City of Eureka who supported the ranked choice voting initiative, ensuring we implement it thoughtfully and correctly,” said Eureka’s City Clerk Pam Powell. “We remain fully committed to this initiative. Our continued partnership with the county ensures that when ranked choice voting is introduced, it is secure, accessible and meets our community's high standards.”

“This work is about getting it right,” Cervantes added. “By bringing everyone to the table, we’re making sure ranked choice voting is implemented thoughtfully and earns the public’s trust.”