Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz think Ranked voting “increases faith in our democracy.” What he really means is that ranked-choice voting increases confidence in Democrats’ ability to win.

The left is engaged in an all-out effort to implement ranked-choice voting in red states and battleground states across the country. I cannot overstate how dangerous this is. States without ranked-choice voting should be wary.

Ranked voting is far from what fairness advocates claim it is. In fact, ranked-choice voting silences voters by throwing away their ballots, delays vote counting by forcing powerful voters to vote for candidates they do not support, reduces voter confidence in elections, and turns losers into winners. .

So why support it? Because it turns elections into a game in which the left, especially the most radical candidates, can rack up victories.

under ranked votingVoters must rank all candidates on the ballot in order of preference. This includes anything that voters might find intolerable, morally reprehensible, or simply incompetent, or that could put their ballots at risk of being thrown away. Yes, it gets thrown away and doesn’t count. If no candidate wins a majority in one round of ranked vote counting, there are repeated rounds of counting where the ballots are “exhausted” (that’s a nice word) until a candidate wins at least 50% of the remaining votes. repeated. vote. (Related: How some voting measures could change future elections in many states)

Two of ranked-choice voting’s most notable users, Maine and Alaska, demonstrate how this undemocratic ploy works in practice. Alaska’s special election to fill the seat held by the late U.S. Rep. Don Young ranked only two Republican candidates because a majority of voters did not want to vote for a Democrat. As a result, during aggregation, 15,000 votes were discardedDemocratic candidate Mary Peltola nevertheless won. 60% of voters I like the Republican Party.

in 2018 parliamentary elections In Maine, Democratic candidate Rep. Jared Golden came in second behind incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin. Initial vote tally. However, Poliquin did not win more than 50%, as voters did not rank all the candidates or include the final candidates among the top two, and after several tallies and more than 8,000 votes. Golden won. garbage.

In Walz’s home state of Minnesota, ranked-choice voting yielded the following results: minneapolis A radical mayor.

These are three Democrats who hold high-profile offices thanks to ranked-choice voting and discarded ballots. No wonder leftists like Mr. Walz want it to be implemented nationwide.

Once ranked choice voting is implemented, it is difficult to remove it. But that doesn’t mean states aren’t trying. That’s the case in Alaska. trying to end it Ranked voting has been introduced in statewide elections, and many local governments have already abolished it or are planning to do so.

Now, states like Missouri need to be on high alert to block ranked-choice voting before it can gain a foothold. As we have seen, red states and battleground states are prime targets for ranked-choice voting, as ranked-choice voting is the left’s preferred tool for bringing radical candidates to power. . In November, missouri voters a threat can be thwarted by vote to ban the act.

There’s a saying that goes, “It’s good to learn from mistakes. It’s good to learn from mistakes.” It’s better to learn from other people’s mistakes. ”

Ranked voting is one such mistake.

Alaska, Maine, and other places that have adopted this election system offer important lessons for voters in Missouri and across the country. Ranked voting threatens our democratic institutions and the voices of Americans from all walks of life. If we truly value the will of the people and have faith in our democracy, we cannot support a voting system where states listen to Waltz and throw their ballots in the trash. It’s time for states to close the door on ranked-choice voting for good.

Madeline Marisa She is a senior fellow at the Government Accountability Foundation and a policy and legal expert on election and initiative integrity.

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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