Letters to the Editor: The California governor’s race shows why we need ranked choice voting

To the editor: Columnist George Skelton discusses how the two candidates for California governor in the 2026 general election could be two Republicans, each with relatively small support from the overall electorate (“A Republican California governor? It’s possible, but a long shot,” Dec. 1). This possibility again shows why California needs some form of ranked choice voting.

It is unreasonable that Californians should be saddled with a governor who has a relative sliver of support. With ranked choice voting, the winning candidate will likely have support from a majority, even if he or she is not the first choice of most voters.

Ranked voting should be implemented as soon as possible for as many electoral offices as possible. This includes the system for choosing a new governor if a sitting governor is recalled. Currently, if a governor is recalled, say, by a vote of 51% to 49%, and the leading vote-getter for the replacement gets 10% of the vote, the candidate with 10% becomes the new governor.

This is absurd. A ranked voting system to choose the replacement will protect against this.

Adrienne Marks, Riverside

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To the editor: Skelton states that, with so many Democrats running for governor, “it is possible, after all, for a Republican to be elected California governor next year.” Would that be such a catastrophe?

We have had Democratic governors for the past 14 years in California, yet our taxes, gasoline prices, budget deficits and home-buying costs are among the highest in the nation. We spent $24 billion on homelessness over a five-year period, but we still have the largest homeless population in the U.S.

Maybe it is time for a Republican governor again.

Janet Polak, Beverly Hills