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Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ranked-choice voting: Let voters (not parties) rule
In Annapolis, voters may soon get a bigger say in city elections. Members of the Annapolis City Council are considering adopting ranked-choice voting. It may sound new and complicated but it's actually quite simple and has been around since the 1850s, first originating in Denmark. Under ranked choice, voters have the chance to not only pick their top pick for office but to essentially rank their runners-up. How does this make a difference? Imagine a crowded primary race for mayor, for example, where no candidate is likely to win an outright majority of votes. Under the current system, that doesn't matter. The candidate who garners a plurality of votes still wins. But under ranked-choice voting, voters list their second, third, fourth and so on choices, too. And if there's no majority winner, these rankings are factored in — by eliminating the lowest polling candidate and redistributing that individual's second-choice votes and so on. That continues with bottom-listers dropping out until a candidate racks up a clear majority. What's the impact? Potentially profound. Suddenly, there's much less incentive to bad-mouth opponents or to follow party orthodoxy. Getting a shoutout from an opponent is actually helpful. Maryland doesn't have much experience with the system. Currently, Takoma Park is the only municipality where it's in use. But the state sure has a lot of experience with the downside of single voting: electing candidates with as little as 36.2% of the vote (the share Sarah K. Elfreth won in a crowded 22-person primary for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives vacated by U.S. Rep. John Sarbanes last year). Party loyalists aren't wild about ranked choice. They complain it's involved, it only helps the opposing party (whichever one that is) and can even leave the winner of a plurality in the dust if he or she doesn't fare well as a second or third choice in a crowded field. But given ranked choice is in use for statewide races in red-state Alaska as well as Takoma Park (AKA the 'People's Republic of Takoma Park' for its left-leaning politics), you have to wonder if fears of partisan disadvantage are overblown. The New York City mayor's race had ranked choice. It helped New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani win the primary, but he also had a plurality (43.5%), so it didn't change the outcome. What it did cause, observers say, was for Mamdani to 'cross-endorse' fellow progressive candidates. Such teamwork is uncommon but hardly undemocratic. New York didn't choose a socialist-leaning Democrat because of ranked-choice, but did it impact Mamdani's election strategy? Probably. Polls show it engaged his base and broadened participation. And that's somehow a bad thing? Peter Jensen is an editorial writer at The Baltimore Sun; he can be reached at pejensen@ Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Michigan House passes ranked choice voting ban
LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) — A bill to ban the use of ranked choice voting in the state of Michigan has passed the state House of Representatives 57-44, with 9 not voting. , introduced by Republican State Rep. Rachelle Smit (R-43), would prohibit the state, as well as any city, township, or other municipality from conducting elections using ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. Candidates are then eliminated in rounds until a candidate wins a majority. The bill additionally includes any method that allows voters to vote for more candidates than total number of positions to be filled in the election. Smit says ranked choice voting is 'chaotic,' and that it would cost millions of tax dollars to implement. 'Studies and real-world elections have shown that Ranked Choice Voting disproportionately impacts minority voters and those who don't vote in every election,' wrote Smit in a news release obtained by 6 News. The representative also says the election method could confuse voters. 'Ranked Choice Voting, with its rounds of counting and reallocation, only breeds skepticism – especially when every close contest invites lawsuits and recount battles,' wrote Smit in a news release obtained by 6 News. The bill now goes to the Senate for further consideration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
