Although rank voting has been met with much disapproval where it was implemented, defenders of rank voting claim it clearly represents every voter. Just what is rank voting? How would it affect my election? Do I have a choice?
Define Rank Choice Voting
As part of RCV, voters cast ballots, in order of preference, for the candidate they prefer for office. Supporters claim RCV allows
voters to rank candidates in order of preference [1].
For example, when fifteen individuals run for the same office, voters rank their preferred candidates according to their preference. RCV eliminates primary elections. Currently, our primary elections determine which individual from each party will run against other parties for the same position. In the general elections, each party runs against the others. In RCV, if one Democrat runs for a position against three Republicans, the Republican votes would be divided in thirds; the Democrat votes would not divide. Thus, as is often the case, the lower vote prospect wins the position as his votes are not diminished.
Effects of Elections
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft is against ranked-choice voting. He stated,
I think what’s really happening is that you have people that have a political objective. They are unhappy with either who’s being elected or what’s passing. [2]So they’re saying, ‘let’s change the rules to put a thumb down on the scale.’
Election results could delay vote counting by weeks. This could allow time for election interference.
Choice?
While those defenders of RCV claim each voter will be represented, that is often not the case. If a state has twice as many conservative Bible believers as agnostics, yet three Bible believers are running for governor against one agnostic, the agnostic could win because the entirety of the votes is divided. Even after voting, the third-place winner could be the ultimate winner. Those in charge say that this is a confusing way to run elections.
Missouri lawmakers are trying to block the use of RCV, but it failed in the Senate.
Notes:
- ^ {{Ranked Choice Voting – FairVote}} (go back ↩)
- ^ {{Petition aims to place ranked choice voting question on 2024 Missouri ballot}} (go back ↩)
