Civic Register
| 6.20.19
Ranked-Choice Voting for Presidential Elections Passes in Maine – Should More States Follow?
Should all states adopt ranked-choice voting?
What’s the story?
- Maine is on track to become the first state in the nation to adopt ranked-choice voting for presidential primary and general elections.
“Ranked-choice voting is not only empowering more voters to get involved with the process, participate, and feel like their voices are being heard but, then inviting new people into the process to run for office. To give voters, really, meaningful choices and more voice in our democracy," said Kyle Bailey, head of the Ranked Choice Voting Campaign.
What is ranked-choice voting (RCV)?
- Also known as “instant run-off voting,” this electoral system allows voters to rank candidates, in order of preference, when marking their ballots. Voters can select as many – or as few – candidates as they wish.
- If no candidate receives the majority of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who had selected the defeated candidate as their first choice will now have their ballots counted for their second choice. The process continues until one candidate has a clear majority and is declared the winner.
- For example, if RCV was used during the 2016 presidential election, voters could have selected Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson as their first choice and Donald Trump as their second choice. Once Johnson didn’t receive enough votes to be elected, their vote would have been counted for Trump.
What do you think?
Would you like to see ranked-choice voting appear on all ballots? Should it only be used for state elections? Or certain offices? Take action above and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.
—Josh Herman
(Photo Credit: FairVote.org)
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