This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1318217
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1318217
Probably only me, but I had to read carefully a second time to make sure of my understanding, which is: voters will be voting on whether to use RCV in future elections, they will not be using RCV for 2020.
I’m glad that ranked choice voting (RCV) is a good thing, though several variations can be envisioned. Thus, what I mean by RCV is where voters rank the candidates, and if no one received 50%+1 vote, then the candidate who has the fewest votes is removed, and the second choice of his/her voters are added to the tally. The process is repeated until one person gets a majority of votes.
That increases the information content of each person’s single vote. Even more information can be packed into each vote if true Fusion Voting is also permitted. By Fusion Voting, I mean that minor parties can have a major party candidate be their candidate as well, AND be on the ballot in two places, one each for the the major party and the minor party. That way, if a candidate wins he/she can know that the margin was due to the influence of the minor party.
If this had been the law in Florida in the 2000 presidential election, because neither Bush nor Gore got an outright majority, the Ralph Nadir voter’s second choices would be considered. I’m guessing most greens would have preferred Gore to Bush, and Bush’s disastrous Iraq War wouldn’t have happened, so critical forces in Afghanistan wouldn’t have been redeployed, thus weakening our efforts initially. Gore would also have known that his victory was because of the support of Greens.
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I personally first heard about ranked choice voting in the early 90s as part of a quality improvement system that we were applying to healthcare operations. I used it many times when there were issues that my staff in the quality management department needed to provide input on what we would be prioritizing with limited manpower and resources. From my perspective, it always resulted in better decisions - sometimes ones that surprised me. I think it helps people to feel more participatory and that their opinions hold more value.
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Excellent article. Thank you!
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Oh lord! Can you imagine Florida voters trying to figure out that ballot? Talk about chaos!
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