RCV Testimonials

We all vote like 13-year-olds. Everything is about who we hate, not who we like. That is a direct result of winner-take-all. (…) In ranked choice voting, candidates have to reach out to all voters, so negative partisanship goes away. 

Hasan Minhaj
Comedian

You should have the right to vote for the candidate you believe in, even if the polling suggests (they) are at 10 or 15 percent. You should be able to make that vote. And that’s what ranked choice voting is about. If we believe in democracy and the right for people to have the freedom to cast their ballot, not to choose the lesser of two evils, that is something I support. 

Bernie Sanders
US Senator (D)

“Up until a year ago, I was an opponent of ranked-choice voting, because all I was doing was looking at the academic literature. I didn’t take the time to look at what was actually happening where ranked-choice voting had been deployed. Between that and seeing what happened in our primaries, I became a believer.” 

Curt Bramble
Utah State Senator (R) 

“I think that the time has come that we need to look at having ranked choice voting for all government funded primary elections.”

Mike Winder 
Utah State Representative  (R) 

“Consider ‘rank-voting’ where first, second and third place candidates are known and the votes given to the eliminated candidates until someone receives 50 percent of the vote. These reforms would give third party candidates a chance to win races, not just be on the ballot.”

Mac Warner 
West Virginia Secretary of State (R) 

“I support ranked choice voting because I believe it will stimulate voter participation at the polls. I fundamentally believe that our democracy and our government is at its best when we have the most citizens participating”

Maggie Toulouse Oliver 
New Mexico Secretary of State (D) 

“Instant runoff voting will lead to good government because voters will elect leaders who have the support of a majority. Elected leaders will be more likely to listen to all and cities will be able to enjoy big tax savings and keep majority rule.”

Late John McCain 
Former U.S. Senator (R)

“I kind of like the idea of ranked choice voting… I’m not against ranked choice voting. I think it’s a clever idea, and I agree with you that it would actually embolden people to vote for third parties more often, which frankly I think would be a good thing. More choices are better in American politics, and the two party system has basically resulted in a longstanding agreement that nobody will ever take tough positions about anything related to spending or anything politically unpalatable.”

Ben Shapiro 
Host of the Ben Shapiro Show 

“A better system — one that empowers voters — is ranked-choice voting, which has seen a surge in popularity in recent years… Do you vote for the candidate who you think will do the best job even if you are worried about his or chances to win? Ranked-choice voting liberates voters from thinking they have to make that choice.”

The Washington Post Editorial Board
Newspaper Editorial Board

“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 Board
Newspaper Editorial Board

“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)

“What I heard from folks is that they really liked ranked choice voting. They liked being able to have choices.”

Matthew Dunlap 
Maine Secretary of State (D)