Ranked Choice Voting

IASbaba

June 25, 2021

Topic:

GS-2: Elections

GS-2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests.

Context: Ranked choice voting made its debut in New York City’s mayoral polls.

What is Ranked Choice Voting?

The system is based on a simple premise: Democracy works better if people aren’t forced to make an all-or-nothing choice with their vote.
Rather than pick just one candidate, voters in this system get to rank several in order of preference.
Popular overseas: It has also been used by Australia, Ireland and Malta since the early 20th century. Northern Ireland, New Zealand and Scotland have all adopted it as well.
The Oscars have also been using it since 2009 for its Best Picture category

How does ranked choice voting work?

In New York City’s version, voters get to rank up to five candidates, from first to last, on their ballot.
If someone gets 50% plus one after all the first-choice votes are counted, then the election is over and that candidate wins.
But if no one gets 50% plus one, it’s on to Round 2.
The person with the lowest number of first-place votes is eliminated, and that candidate’s voters’ second choices get redistributed as votes for other candidates.
This reallocation of votes goes on until someone reaches 50% plus one.

Merits of this system

People’s Voice Counted: Even if a voter’s top choice doesn’t have enough support to win, their rankings of other candidates still play a role in determining the victor.
More moderate candidates: It’s tough for someone to get elected through this system without broad support. In a traditional election, it’s possible for someone with fringe political views to win even if they are deeply disliked by a majority of voters.
Less negative campaigning. The argument goes that candidates need a majority of voters to like them (at least more than the next person) and to cater to wider group, candidates mellow down their polarising nature of campaigning.
Possibility of increased voter turnout: People can feel good about casting their vote. Instead of holding their nose for that one choice they get, voters can express at least a first choice for the person they really like.

Demerits of ranked-choice voting:

It is Complicated: It requires voters to do a lot more research. It also makes races less predictable.
Some argue it’s less democratic because it goes against the idea of one person, one vote.
Transparency and trust are also potential problems. Under the modern ranked choice system, the process of redistributing votes is done by computer. Outside groups will have a harder time evaluating whether the software sorted the ranked votes accurately.

Lots of people don’t fill out all the choices: It is difficult to know the true will of a majority of the people if everyone isn’t filling out all the choices

It could encourage horse-trading. Ranked-choice voting could open the door for candidates to make deals with one another about who their voters should go for as a second choice.
It might not necessarily reduce negative campaigning: Much of the negative campaigning is done by outside groups, and nothing in ranked-choice voting stops those entities from continuing to do so.

Connecting the dots:

Sign Up To Receive Regular Updates