What is Ranked Choice Voting?
Ranked choice voting gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first choice, second choice, third choice, etc.
Used in over 50 places across the United States (including four in Oregon), ranked choice voting is the fastest-growing nonpartisan election reform.
How Ranked Choice Voting Works
Ranked choice voting gives voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.
To win, a candidate must receive more than 50% of the vote. All first-choice votes are counted, and if a candidate receives a majority of votes, they win!
If, however, no candidate initially gets over 50% of the first-choice votes, then a runoff instantly takes place where the candidate with the fewest votes is defeated, and voters who supported the defeated candidate have their votes count for their next choice. These runoffs happen in successive rounds until one candidate is declared the winner with over 50% of the vote.
Voters always have the option to only rank one candidate. Ranking their ballot won't hurt their favorite candidate’s chances, but will give their ballot more power.
Why Ranked Choice Voting?
Voters are increasingly becoming disillusioned with politics, and our current election system plays an essential role in voter apathy. Oftentimes, the candidates that have the most access to financial resources win elections, even if they are not broadly representative of most people’s views. In turn, voters are left feeling like they have to vote for the candidate who has the best chance of winning rather than the candidate they truly resonate with. Voters' choices are limited, and candidates are choosing not to run for office because they worry about taking votes away from a like-minded or similar candidate.
Ranked choice voting would help address these problems with our elections. Ranked choice voting helps:
Elect candidates who have the broadest support. In our current system, a candidate can win an election with only 30% or 40% of the vote. That means that a majority of voters didn’t vote for that candidate. For a candidate to win with ranked choice voting, they must secure a majority of votes. Ranked choice voting promotes better representation and more accountability, because candidates need to win support from more voters in their community – not just a narrow base.
Ensure voters have more meaningful choices. Ranked choice voting ensures that voters have more power to express their preferences and vote for candidates whose values they share. By allowing voters to rank candidates, their vote becomes more meaningful, has a greater impact, and, ultimately, leads to an outcome they are more satisfied with.
Encourage more grassroots, issue-based campaigns. The 2022 midterm elections saw some of the worst mudslinging and most negative campaigns in Oregon’s history. Ranked choice voting helps solve these problems by creating more civil and issue-focused campaigns; candidates are incentivized to reach a broader range of voters, seeking not only first- but also second-choice votes. That means fewer attack ads and a greater focus on the issues important to most voters.