Ranked choice voting is moving ahead already in several states but will Utah be next? As Ballot Access News described it, “two Utah state representatives, one from each major party, have this op-ed in favor of ranked choice voting in the Deseret News for Sunday, June 11. The Deseret News has the largest circulation on Sunday of any Utah newspaper”. From the op-ed:
RCV is a proven process that provides fair representation to the majority. Voters have the freedom to rank their top choices rather than be limited to just one. If any candidate exceeds 50 percent of first choices, that’s the winner, just like in any election. If not, the weakest candidates are eliminated, and citizens’ votes immediately go to their next choice until someone wins with more than half the vote.
RCV has been used at the Republican conventions in Davis and Utah counties. It is catching on nationally as voters across party lines search for solutions to the gridlock and dysfunction in our politics. Last November, Maine approved a ballot measure to become the first state in the country to adopt RCV for major elections, including for Congress. Many major cities use RCV as well.
It’s an interesting question. Also, here is some more information on ranked choice voting and instant runoffs from Democracy Chronicles’s friends at FairVote:
Ranked choice voting (RCV) makes democracy more fair and functional. It works in a variety of contexts. It is a simple change that can have a big impact.
With ranked choice voting, voters can rank as many candidates as they want in order of choice. Candidates do best when they attract a strong core of first-choice support while also reaching out for second and even third choices. When used as an “instant runoff” to elect a single candidate like a mayor or a governor, RCV helps elect a candidate that better reflects the support of a majority of voters. When used as a form of fair representation voting to elect more than one candidate like a city council, state legislature or even Congress, RCV helps to more fairly represent the full spectrum of voters.
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