Most Americans can agree that our society is becoming more and more polarized and divided. There are lots of reasons for that – including our current voting system, which entrenches the two-party system.
Luckily, ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a method that can help reduce political extremism and promote fairer elections!
Sign the petition to urge all the U.S. states to implement RCV in all elections! This would be a major step forward for democracy, and would go a long way towards creating a more equitable, inclusive, and representative democracy.
Ranked-choice voting works like this: many candidates can run for election all at the same time, and voters can choose several top favorites. On their ballots, voters rank their favorite candidates in order of preference (1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc.).
If one candidate out of the group earns more than 50% of the vote, they win the election. But if that doesn't happen, the worst-performing candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to their voters' second-choice candidates. This process continues until someone wins.
Right now, voters are often forced to choose between just 2 major party candidates who often don't fully align with the voters' values. But we should be able to prioritize the candidates we really want!
The system discourages third party candidates from running for office, because they run the risk of "splitting" the vote, pulling ballots away from similar candidates, and leaving the major opposition party ready to win. For example: if a Democrat and a Green Party candidate were both to run, they know the Republican will probably win. This concern arose during the 2000 election between Al Gore and George Bush, with left-wing candidate Ralph Nader pulling votes away from Gore, allowing Bush to win. Even in 2016, candidate Jill Stein was seen to "split the vote" away from Hillary Clinton.
But in ranked-choice voting, constituents don't need to fear that voting for a candidate they truly like would be harmful! That's important because it means our politicians will start to reflect the priorities of the public more and more.
Experts say this system encourages more political parties to become legitimate options, increases BIPOC and women candidates, and increases the likelihood of more moderate political outcomes.
That's why many different places have already implemented ranked-choice voting in their elections. This is true in twenty U.S. cities, including New York City, San Francisco, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Santa Fe, and more. It's even been implemented in Alaska and Maine, as well as Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, and Australia!
The data is clear: ranked-choice voting is better for fairness, democracy, and constituents. We need this more equitable form of voting throughout the U.S., now!
Sign the petition urging each U.S. state to pass legislation to implement ranked-choice voting in all elections!
