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About
About
Why is Ranked Choice Voting Better?
Why is Ranked Choice Voting Better?
RCV benefits voters and candidates
RCV benefits voters and candidates
Preventing wasted votes on candidates who drop out or aren’t viable
Under RCV, if a voter's first choice drops out or isn’t viable, their vote will be transferred to the next highest-ranking candidate on their ballot.
Leading to more diverse representation among elected officials
Candidates who win because of RCV owe their support to more diverse constituencies of voters and are committed to making sure Black and Brown voters feel represented and heard in their communities.
Reducing the likelihood that candidates of color are “splitting the vote”
A recent study showed that candidates in RCV elections aren’t penalized when they run against opponents of the same race or ethnicity. This means they don’t need to worry about “splitting the vote.” In fact, these candidates of color–across races and ethnicities–experience an increased win rate under RCV elections.
Discouraging negative campaigning
With RCV, candidates have an incentive to appeal to more voters and try to earn their second and third choice votes. This discourages candidates from using negative campaign tactics and bombarding voters with ads that would exclude or turn off potential voters.
Giving voters more choices
RCV encourages more candidates to run because voters are free to vote for their true choices instead of feeling pressure to only vote strategically for incumbents or more well-known candidates. Many potential candidates never enter the race out of a fear that they may split the vote with other candidates of the same gender, race, or ethnicity.
Minimizing strategic voting
Under RCV, voters don’t have to choose between voting for the candidate they really want and a candidate who is more favored to win. Voters no longer have to throw their vote away on the candidate favored to win by pollsters and the media. With RCV, voters can back the candidate they truly want to win knowing their second choice will still matter. In the end, the winning candidate will reflect a true majority.
Increasing participation from military and overseas voters
Through RCV, military and overseas voters can ensure their votes aren’t wasted because if the candidate they voted for drops out or isn’t viable by their state’s primary election day, their vote goes to their next highest ranked candidate.
Improving government accountability
RCV gives Illinois voters more power because politicians need the support of more people to win elections. RCV makes sure that the candidate who is elected receives more than 50% of the vote, unlike our current system, which can and has elected candidates with 30% or less!
RCV is a proven solution
RCV has been successfully used in presidential primaries in two states since 2020. Read more about the success of RCV in Alaska's presidential primaries here.
