Ranked voting activists are working overtime to bring the new voting system to key states across the country. Their latest target is Wisconsin, where RCV activists are using Congressional hearings this week to push their voting plans in the face of conservative attempts to ban RCV in the state.
In RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, RCV manufactures the majority of votes. The candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. Ballots that originally listed that candidate will be redistributed to the next candidate. If a voter does not rank anyone else, their ballot is “used up” and thrown away. This is how RCV creates majority winners.
It may seem confusing, but you are not alone. That's why five states have already banned RCV, and lawmakers in states like Ohio and Wisconsin are working to ban it in their own states as well.
But the left lobby is working hard. In places like Arizona, Idaho and Nevada, liberal mega-donors are pouring in dozens of dollars. millions of Large sums of dollars will be spent on constitutional amendments based on pretend Promoting equity and inclusion. (Related: Jason Sneed: This voting scandal should sound a wake-up call to election integrity advocates everywhere)
In other states, the RCV lobby is pursuing legislative strategies.This includes Wisconsin, which has major backers like Texas billionaires john arnold and former Obama fundraiser Katherine Gale has made significant donations to the campaign. These special interest groups are currently pushing a bill that would impose a type of RCV called Final Five Voting on Wisconsin legislative elections. This system forces all candidates, regardless of party, to compete in a single California-style jungle primary. Voters then rank their top five vote-getters in the general election.
In December, Wisconsin senators heard eight hours of testimony on the final five votes. More than a dozen conservative groups participated to ensure lawmakers knew the facts. As a result, the bill stalled, and the left shifted its focus to the Wisconsin Legislature.
Supporters can change the venue, but they cannot change the fact that RCV opens a Pandora's box of voter confusion and disenfranchisement. That's why so many places that have tried RCV end up ditching it.In fact, RCV Already used It was enforced in cities across the country a century ago, but was eventually abolished in all cities.
In a recent pilot project in Utah involving 24 cities, half of the cities declined. Monica Zoltanski, Mayor of Sandy, Utah; To tell She “does not believe that the benefits of ranked voting outweigh the benefits of predictability, stability, and familiarity.” (Related: 'Rigging': The Death of the American Voter)
For voters, voting is more difficult and time-consuming than ever. First, voters must wade through a potentially dense jungle of primaries. dozens of Democratic Party, Republican Party, Green Party, Socialist Party. Next, voters need to know about and rank the top five vote-getters in the general election. Research shows that in voting to the final five, the time it takes to vote increases by one minute per race. The time will be added. Imagine a ballot with 15 RCV races. He will have 75 candidates to rank. Be prepared for long lines at polling places and the possibility of making a whole new set of mistakes and having your ballot thrown away.
In fact, voting takes place on a regular basis. got thrown away It is located under RCV. With each defeat, fewer and fewer people seem to be voting. Approximately 140,000 votes in the 2021 New York mayoral election were exhausted and invalidated. 11,000 The 2022 Alaska special legislative election has run out of ballots. Because of RCV, many people may feel forced to rank the candidates they are considering. otherwise not supported This is simply to avoid throwing away ballots.
delay Results are inevitable because counting cannot begin until all votes have been cast. Manual recounts are nearly impossible in large races, but are more likely in RCV. After all, the final five votes could turn one contest into a potentially close race for his four, and changing the order in which candidates are eliminated could change the overall outcome.
RCV issues are easier to count than the ballots themselves. But perhaps the biggest reason not to adopt it is that its proponents won't even acknowledge that they are promoting RCV.News just before the Wisconsin hearing broken Supporters claimed they were disseminating misleading material claiming that the Final 5 vote was not RCV.probably leaked vote The Arizona native explains why: RCV is simply too unpopular to be openly accepted.
Fortunately, Wisconsin lawmakers have an opportunity to change course. Earlier this month, Wisconsin Congressman Ty Bodden introduced Proposed state constitutional amendment to ban RCV in Wisconsin. Protecting voters from the disastrous effects of RCV and upholding the fundamental principle of “one person, one vote” is absolutely the right path.
Jason Sneed is the Executive Director of Honest Elections Project Action.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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