By Edwyn Shoemaker.
On May 14, the Boston City Council took a historic step forward by voting to advance Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for our local elections. As someone who lives in the Bowdoin-Geneva section of Dorchester, this moment is personal, not just political.
I’ve spent the past decade working in and for this city. In 2014, I was the field director for Rep. Dan Hunt’s campaign when he was first elected in a competitive race rooted in the traditional Irish enclaves of Dorchester. That same year, I worked on a special election in another part of Dorchester, predominantly Cape Verdean, Black, and Vietnamese. I saw firsthand how community identity, language barriers, and low-turnout elections can shape and limit who shows up, runs, and wins.
That’s why I believe so strongly in Ranked Choice Voting. It’s a simple, proven upgrade to our voting system that gives everyone an authentic voice. Instead of choosing just one candidate, voters can rank them in order of preference. If no one gets a majority of first-choice votes, the weakest candidates are eliminated, and those votes go to the next choice on each ballot until someone earns majority support.
It’s a common-sense solution that would make elections more fair, inclusive, and reflective of our city’s identity.
Our office at Ranked Choice Boston was based in Fields Corner—right at the intersection of the two Dorchester communities I’ve served. It’s a powerful symbol. This part of the neighborhood is home to the Cape Verdean and Vietnamese communities, which are underrepresented in local government despite their vibrant civic life. With RCV, we can level the playing field so candidates from all backgrounds have a real shot, and voters don’t have to worry about “wasting” their vote on someone they believe in.
RCV also eliminates costly, low-turnout preliminary elections that often exclude working-class voters. It encourages candidates to appeal beyond their base, build broader coalitions, and run more respectful campaigns.
Some say it’s too complicated. What’s complicated is a system where 20 percent of the vote can decide who leads a city as diverse and complex as ours. What’s difficult is telling young people and immigrants their vote doesn’t matter because the outcome’s already been decided in a preliminary few even knew was happening.
Ranked Choice Voting is about power—our power as voters, neighbors, and communities that deserve to be heard and represented. It’s not a silver bullet, but it’s a meaningful step toward a more just, accountable, and inclusive democracy.
Dorchester is a microcosm of Boston’s past and future. Our campaign is rooted here, where cultures meet, new Americans find their footing, and long-time residents fight to keep their voices in the conversation. This is the kind of neighborhood that RCV is built for. And it’s time we made the way we vote match the values we share.
Let’s finish what the council started. Let’s bring Ranked Choice Voting home.
Edwyn Shoemaker is executive director of Voter Choice Massachusetts.
