Ranked Choice Voting May Have a Breakout Year in 2023 with Bills Proposed in 9 States

Brian Beihl

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for January 18, 2023

Try out Ranked Choice Voting at RCV123.org

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Try Out Ranked Choice Voting – Election: Practice Ranked-Choice Voting: Favorite Alaska Wild Animal
NBC News – Following a big year, more states push ranked-choice voting 

CT Mirror/Hartford Courant – Could CT get ranked-choice voting? There’s a bill submitted that calls for it.
Westword – Should Denver Switch to Ranked-Choice Voting?
Alaska Beacon – Five takeaway lessons from Alaska’s first ranked choice election

Groups Taking Action:
FairVote (national), List of State RCV Groups, Alaskans for Better Elections, Democracy Maine

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

2023 appears to be a breakout year for Ranked Choice Voting, also known as Instant Run-Off.  The system has a years-long track record in Maine, successful use in Alaska last year, and adoption by over 50 municipalities.   And there are proposed bills in several state legislatures this year.

Instead of voting for just one person, Ranked choice voting allows a voter to vote for multiple candidates, ranking them in order of preference.  If a candidate gets 50% plus 1 vote, they win.  If 50% is not reached by one candidate, the lowest vote-getter is eliminated, and those votes are distributed to the voter’s second choice.  Rounds continue until a candidate exceeds 50% plus one vote.  

Polling after Alaska’s 2022 elections showed that over 85% of Alaskans thought it was simple to do.   So far in 2023, NBC News reports that RCV bills have been introduced in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Missouri, Montana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Oregon, New Jersey, and New York.  Some are considering implementation for federal & state elections, some just for primaries, and others are authorizing use in cities and towns.  In Georgia, legislators are questioning the price tag of a separate run-off Senate election, which could have been avoided in November with Ranked Choice voting. Virginia is already testing it, and has bipartisan support.

Try out ranked choice voting at our website, and find resources to learn more, at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.