Ranked Choice Voting: A Small Tweak to Save Democracy

The mechanics of how we vote is an aspect of our political system that most people take for granted. Yet, the workings of our voting system can have a big impact on American political life. Our current “plurality” voting system tends towards divisive two-way races. If more than two candidates run, it can lead to politicians winning elections with only a minority of the vote. This is a major part of why many US elections are uncompetitive, why politicians are unaccountable to the public and why voters are so frustrated. Luckily, there is a better way. Ranked Choice Voting is an alternative voting system that has the potential to address many of the problems facing American politics. It opens races up to more than two competitive candidates, and it empowers voters to vote the candidate they really want instead of feeling forced to choose “the lesser evil”. Ranked Choice elections reward candidates who can build broad coalitions and actually respond to their constituents.