Multnomah County, Oregon is looking for community organizations to teach East County residents how ranked choice voting works, part of a push to prepare the region's most diverse and politically disengaged neighborhoods for a voting system that's proven confusing elsewhere.

The county is offering grants to groups that can design education programs tailored to East Multnomah County communities like Gresham, Troutdale, and East Portland, areas with large immigrant, refugee, and low-income populations where voter turnout typically runs 10 to 15 points below the rest of Portland. The funding comes as the county considers expanding ranked choice voting beyond Portland city elections, where it launched in 2024 after voters approved the change in 2022.

Ranked choice voting lets voters rank candidates by preference instead of picking one. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place finisher is eliminated and their votes redistributed based on voters' second choices, continuing until someone clears 50%. Advocates say it ensures winners have broad support and reduces negative campaigning. Critics call it needlessly complicated.

The system has stumbled in other cities. New York saw high ballot rejection rates in immigrant neighborhoods during its 2021 rollout, and Alaska voters repealed ranked choice voting entirely in 2024 after confusion over how it worked. Portland's reform was driven by civil rights groups arguing the old at-large system shut out minority communities, but implementing it has required intensive public education.

The county is betting community groups, not government agencies, can reach East County's harder-to-engage voters. The grant description emphasizes programs designed for the specific needs of these neighborhoods, which include high percentages of Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Slavic refugee residents.

The county is accepting proposals now, with education programs likely starting later this year.