Ranked Choice Voting

RCV in Washington State

In a recent article in the Fulcrum, ranked choice voting is being considered in two Washington counties. Voters in those...

RCV elections are underway!

Two major cities in New Mexico are holding RCV elections right now! Santa Fe and Las Cruces municipal elections are...

Ranked Choice Voting New Mexico

Ranked choice voting guarantees that New Mexicans are represented by office holders elected by a true majority of voters.

(When you love RED, but will still be happy with GREEN)

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Testimonials

“If we wish to restore peace among us, we have to go back to Madison’s basic question. How do we build institutions that can ward off the threat of faction? We actually need to rethink our system of representation, perhaps adopting measures such as multi-member districts and ranked-choice voting to broaden representation.”Danielle Allen Professor at Harvard University and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics

Ranked-choice voting can make our elections more positive and require successful candidates to build broad coalitions. It can ensure that everyone’s vote counts and open the door to elections that more fairly represent the electorate. Most important, ranked-choice voting can make sure that the winning candidates have successfully appealed to the majority of the voters. That’s a stronger democracy.Elizabeth Warren & Jamie Raskin, US Senator & US Representative (D)

“Single-winner elections do a poor job of winnowing a large field of candidates down to one who reflects majority agreement, and encourage the type of nastiness we’re seeing now, because it’s all-or-nothing for each candidate. And the winner of this process can be the choice of as little as 25 or 30 percent of the electorate, which is another way of saying that he or she was not the choice of up to three-quarters of voters.”The New York Times Editorial BoardDanielle Allen, Professor at Harvard University and Director of Harvard’s Edmond J. Safra Center for EthicsNewspaper Editorial Board

Frequently Asked Questions

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is a simple electoral reform that ensures fair and efficient elections. In a traditional election, the candidate with the most voter win, even if they do not receive the majority of the votes.

This means voters often feel disengaged and are left to choose between the “lesser of two evils,” or vote for the candidate they feel has the best chance of winning, rather than supporting their favorite candidates.

RCV promotes positive, inclusive and fair elections, which encourages a diversity of candidates and saves money by eliminating the need for run-off elections.

On Election Night, first choice votes are counted to determine who voters like the best. If a candidate receives a majority of votes, they win. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-choice rankings is eliminated. If your favorite candidate is eliminated, your vote is instantly counted for your next choice. This repeats until one candidate reaches a majority and wins.

RCV Eliminates “Vote-Splitting”

In RCV elections, you always get to vote for your favorite candidate, even if they don’t have a good chance of winning. If your favorite candidate gets eliminated, then your vote immediately counts for your next choice. You can truly vote your conscience without worrying about wasting your vote. Ranking your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th choices will never hurt your favorite candidate. It simply amplifies your voice in the process.

RCV Increases Voter Turnout

Cities that have RCV elections, now including Santa Fe and Las Cruces, have seen a steady increase in voter turnout. Turn out improves with meaningful votes. Both Santa Fe and Las Cruces had significantly higher voter turnout than several previous elections.

RCV Fosters Civil Elections

In RCV elections, candidates often need 2nd and 3rd choice votes to win a majority of the vote. As such, they will ask for your first-choice vote, but if another candidate is your favorite, they will also ask for your second and third choices. Candidates are not likely to get your second or third choice vote if they have been engaging in negative “mudslinging” personal attacks against your favorite candidate.

RCV Eliminates Separate Run-Off Elections

With RCV, you don’t need to show up to vote twice in the event of a runoff. Instead, you get an immediate majority winner in a single, higher-turnout election. This saves money by preventing the need to run a second election.

Ranked-choice voting is an electoral system that allows people to vote for multiple candidates, in order of preference. Instead of just choosing who you want to win, you fill out the ballot saying who is your first choice, second choice, or third choice (or more as needed) for each position.

The candidate with the majority (more than 50%) of first-choice votes wins outright. If no candidate gets a majority of first-choice votes, then it triggers a new counting process. The candidate who did the worst is eliminated, and that candidate’s voters’ ballots are redistributed to their second-choice pick. In other words, if you ranked a losing candidate as your first choice, and the candidate is eliminated, then your vote still counts: it just moves to your second-choice candidate. That process continues until there is a candidate who has a true majority of votes.

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Tell lawmakers that we want Ranked Choice Voting for fair, efficient elections!