Minneapolis City Council election, 2021

← 2017 November 2, 2021 (2021-11-02) 2023 →
All 13 seats on theMinneapolis City Council 7 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	54.0% ( 11.6pp)
Majority party Minority party   Leader Lisa Bender (retiring) Robin Wonsley Worlobah Party Democratic (DFL) Democratic Socialists (DSA) Leader's seat Ward 10 Ward 2 Last election 12 seats, 82.69% 0 seats,did not contest Seats won 12 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 115,277 3,061 Percentage 86.0% 2.3% Swing 3.2pp 2.3pp
Winning party's vote share by ward.
President before election Lisa Bender Democratic (DFL) Elected President Andrea Jenkins Democratic (DFL)

Elections in Minnesota
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Ballot questions 2012 Amendment 1 Amendment 2
Minneapolis General elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 Mayoral elections 1957 1959 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 City Council elections 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2023 2025 City ballot questions Question 2 (2021)
Saint Paul Mayoral elections 2001 2005 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025
v t e

The2021 Minneapolis City Council elections was held on November 2, 2021, to elect representatives for all 13 wards of theMinneapolis City Council. These elections occurred alongside themayoral race and severalother municipal offices, including Park Board and Board of Estimate and Taxation positions. The council elections were conducted using a ranked-choice voting system, which allows voters to rank candidates by preference on their ballots.^[1]

Amid a backdrop of significant local and national events, including the ongoing impact of theCOVID-19 pandemic and social unrest following themurder of George Floyd in 2020, candidates across the wards ran on various platforms, addressing key issues such as public safety reform, housing, economic recovery, and the city's approach to policing.^[2]

The DFL garnered an overwhelming 85% of the 1st choice votes, a 3 percentage point increase from the previous election. The remaining seat was taken by Democratic Socialist candidateRobin Wonsley (Ward 2), who beat incumbent Green Party council memberCam Gordon in one of the only two knownCondorcet cycles in United States electoral history.

Overall, moderates gained a net one seat on the 13-member council. This change suggests that moderates will have increased influence over key decisions on issues such as police reform and rent control.^[3] While progressives managed to secure seats in Wards 1 and 9, they suffered losses in Wards 3, 4, and 11, where moderate challengers defeated progressive incumbents who had supported the now-failedcharter amendment to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department.^[4]

• Alondra Cano, Ward 9^[5]
• Lisa Bender, Ward 10^[6]

The 13 members of the City Council are elected fromsingle-member districts viainstant-runoff voting, commonly known as ranked choice voting. Voters have the option of ranking up to three candidates in order of preference. Municipal elections inMinnesota are officially nonpartisan, although candidates are able to identify with a political party on the ballot.Write-in candidates must file a request with the Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services Division for votes for them to be counted.

The election in Ward 2 exhibited one of the only two knownCondorcet cycles in United States electoral history, with a narrow circular tie between Arab, Gordon, and Wonsley.^[9] Arab was preferred over Gordon by a 51.3% majority, Gordon was preferred over Wonsley by 50.5%, and Wonsley was preferred over Arab by 50.1%.^[10] Additionally, the election exhibited adownward monotonicity paradox, as well as a paradox akin toSimpson’s paradox.^[11] However, according to Minneapolis' ranked choice voting tabulation process, Wonsley narrowly won with 42.6% of final round votes (or 50.09% of unexhausted ballots).^[12]

• 2021 Minneapolis municipal election
  • 2021 Minneapolis Question 2

• Minneapolis Elections & Voter Services

• 2021 Minnesota elections
• Local elections in Minnesota
• Minneapolis City Council elections
• 2021 United States local elections
• Non-partisan elections

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from September 2023