Maine just finished the first ever federal election conducted via ranked choice voting. And it turned out to be a great display of the strengths of RCV. Eight percent of voters chose independent candidates as their favorite. Under plurality voting, their votes would have been thrown away, and their preferences ignored. But under ranked choice, when it's obvious that their favorite can't when, their vote goes to their second choice.
Before some of you go there, this isn't partisan in any way. In this case, a Democrat came out on top. But experts agree that the '92 presidential election would gone to Bush, rather than Clinton, if RCV had been used. Most of Perot's voters favored Bush over Clinton. If their preference hadn't been counted, rather than thrown away, Clinton would have lost.
There are many appealing aspects to Ranked Choice Voting. But for me its biggest selling point is the way it does away with the 'lesser-of-two-evils' approach to voting. You can vote for your favorite candidate, even they are unlikely to win, without throwing your vote away.
www.fairvote.org
Before some of you go there, this isn't partisan in any way. In this case, a Democrat came out on top. But experts agree that the '92 presidential election would gone to Bush, rather than Clinton, if RCV had been used. Most of Perot's voters favored Bush over Clinton. If their preference hadn't been counted, rather than thrown away, Clinton would have lost.
There are many appealing aspects to Ranked Choice Voting. But for me its biggest selling point is the way it does away with the 'lesser-of-two-evils' approach to voting. You can vote for your favorite candidate, even they are unlikely to win, without throwing your vote away.
www.fairvote.org