Voters Wisely Dropped Ranked-Choice Voting

Do you ever wonder what it was like for David when Goliath fell?

The weight of nations hanging in the balance. The whoosh of his slingshot. The crash of Goliath’s thud to the ground. The roar of the crowd behind him.

It may have felt a little like the monumental collapse of ranked-choice voting on ballots across the nation on November 5. Except this time, the giant was a $150 million movement aiming to radically remake American elections, and the tiny challenger was the collection of states set on taking down this behemoth despite the odds.

Ranked-choice voting is an alternative vote-counting method that flips our American one-person, one-vote system on its head. It replaces traditional voting with a confusing ranking system that even advocates struggle to explain, much less implement.

Perhaps the defeat of ranked-choice voting this election cycle had a little less cinematic quality than David slaying Goliath, but it is surely no less dramatic: On Election Day, American voters delivered their verdict, and it was a resounding rock right between the eyes.

This electoral monster failed on ballot initiatives in six separate states. It is now banned in Missouri, and was nearly repealed in Alaska. FairVote, an activist group that advocates for the system, still claims the multiple failed elections marked a “step forward” for ranked-choice voting — a delusion that seems rooted in equal parts fantasy and the need to raise funds.

In reality, the future of ranked-choice voting is looking rather dim.

Despite advocates spending millions — upwards of $150 million — to promote the system this election cycle, it was no match for the common sense of the average voter, who saw it for the disaster it is and shot it down.

It’s hard to overstate the threat ranked-choice voting poses for American elections. In many cases, voters don’t know if their vote will count. It might end up in the trash. The very thing that democracy hinges on is erased along with basic election integrity — like fast and accurate counting — and, most importantly, trust in the system that will encourage participation.

Everywhere it’s been tried, it’s proven to be a chaotic, confusing, disenfranchising failure. And nearly everywhere it was on the ballot this year (except for a single, deep-blue municipality — Washington, D.C.), it was handily defeated.

Oregon’s Measure 117 would have implemented ranked-choice voting — it failed.

Colorado’s Proposition 131 would have utilized it for certain statewide and federal offices — it failed.

Idaho and Nevada had ballot initiatives to implement ranked-choice voting — they, too, failed. Montana and Arizona had initiatives that would have likely led to ranked-choice voting and — you guessed it — they failed.

Missouri banned it outright, ending the possibility of it coming to the Show-Me State before the idea could gain a foothold. Other states should take note and do the same.

Even in Alaska, where the measure to repeal ranked-choice voting ultimately did not pass, it’s clear that the system is not widely popular. The effort to end the practice only fell short by a few hundred votes, meaning ranked-choice voting is not held in high regard by more than a few Alaskans.

Advocates should take the hint: Americans don’t want this. Perhaps the crushing defeat of ranked-choice voting at the ballot box is, in part, because voters know you just can’t beat the simplicity and straightforwardness of a system that has always worked — one person, one vote — or maybe it’s because they’ve seen what happens when ranked-choice voting is implemented.

In practice, it’s taken weeks — in some cases, months — to determine the winner of elections run with this method. It brings about a loss of confidence when major errors result in the need for a recount or the wrong winner is declared, which happened in an Alameda County, California, school board race. And in most races, thousands of ballots are trashed — sometimes even more ballots are trashed than counted.

Ranked-Choice Voting Dishonorable Results

States that require voters to rank candidates, like Maine, are making the point for us. Their Second Congressional District race took days to finalize. Rep. Jared Golden didn’t secure a 50 percent majority from voters’ first-choice votes, so votes were retabulated, taking more time and costing taxpayers money, and yes, likely exhausting (throwing away) an untold number of ballots.

There were two candidates running — Golden and his opponent, Rep. Austin Thierault. But because there were a few hundred votes for a write-in candidate and more than 12,000 voters didn’t make a first-choice selection on their ballot, Golden didn’t initially receive a majority, so ranked-choice voting was triggered, and it took an additional week after Election Day to complete tabulation. Between the ranked-choice voting delay and the Thierault-requested recount, the counting process wasn’t over until early December.

Ranked-choice voting didn’t take a step forward in 2024 — voters pushed it forcefully aside in favor of what they know works and what they trust: one person, one vote. The states that either rejected or banned ranked-choice voting are safe from the chaos it inevitably brings to elections and will serve as examples for states that have yet to protect themselves.

The Goliath forces behind the ranked-choice voting movement have fallen, and its future has dimmed to a mere flicker. Our elections and country will better off for it as long we keep it snuffed out.

READ MORE:

Why Voting In Person Matters for America’s Civility

In Georgia, GOP Districts Dominate Early Voting

Madeline Malisa is the former chief counsel to Maine Governor Paul LePage, currently working as senior fellow and election integrity expert at the Foundation for Government Accountability.

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