#2018Vote is our number one priority.
Changing the Voting Process
In the GMP Political Activism SIG, on Thursday evenings, we are getting down to the basics. What can we do NOW to change the system to achieve a government that protects the population of the United States as well as the corporate and financial sectors? Without parity, this country will descend into a chaos that will serve no one.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)
To that end, one thing we can advocate for is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in all elections. The information below is gathered from two main sites: Fairvote.org and Rankedchoicevoting.org
The Carnegie Endowment report outlines several electoral changes including proportional representation and ranked choice voting that would go a long way in healing the nation’s broken politics.
“The best structural change for preserving the two-party system while potentially reducing polarization would be ranked choice voting… And though getting politicians on board with reforming the U.S. electoral system will not be easy, structural changes such as open primaries and ranked choice voting would enable a broader spectrum of candidates to have a voice and help restore competitiveness and representativeness to U.S. elections.”
Fair voter representation
“Fair Representation is the principle that a legislature should reflect all of the voters who elect them. Like-minded voters should be able to elect representatives in proportion to their number. In contrast, most elections in the United States are winner-take-all: instead of reflecting all voters, our legislators reflect only the biggest or strongest group of voters that elected them, leaving all others unrepresented. The use of winner-take-all voting methods in our elections for state legislatures and Congress is a central reason for major problems with our politics: gerrymandering, partisan gridlock, no-choice elections and distortions in fair representation all have roots in the inherent problems of winner-take-all methods.”
Voting in this country has been over-run by political interests looking to make voters their pawns in a game of national control of our government. The result is that voter interests of 99% of this country are no longer represented in Congress. There is, however, light at the end of the tunnel.
Bill introduced in US House of Representatives and in Committee
H.R.3057 – Fair Representation Act –– Rep. Beyer, Donald S., Jr. [D-VA-8] (Introduced 06/26/2017): To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections for Representatives in Congress, to require each State with more than one Representative to establish multi-member Congressional districts, to require States to conduct Congressional redistricting through independent commissions, and for other purposes.
RCV is not a new concept
Ranked choice voting (RCV) is a proven voting method that has been used for major elections in the U.S. and other countries for over a century. RCV was invented in the United States by an MIT professor in 1870. It is sometimes referred to as “instant runoff voting” or “preferential voting.”
How it works
“With ranked choice voting, voters mark their ballots in order of preference – 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on. Learn more: “How to Mark a Ballot. ” When electing a single candidate — like a race for Mayor, all first choices are tallied. If a candidate wins a majority among the first-choice votes, that candidate is the winner.
If not, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. The second choices from those ballots are then added to the remaining candidates. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of the final votes. Learn more about “Single-Winner Ranked Choice Voting.”
Ranked Choice Voting works equally well when there are multiple seats to fill. The threshold for winning is adjusted depending on the number of seats to fill and a similar process of eliminating and electing candidates through rounds of counting occurs until all the seats are filled. Learn more about “Multi-Winner Ranked Choice Voting.“
- Eliminates the need for Primary and Run-off elections in districts where that is procedure — turnout being significantly less in the Run-off.
- Eliminates the “spoiler” effect where a “third” party candidate can pull votes away and elect candidates by “not” voting for them rather than voting for their primary opposition.
- Civility in campaigns. Candidates do better with positive messages to win over voters.
- Ends the “cycle of gerrymandering, and creates competitive elections in which every vote really counts.”
Make every vote count
As voters who are looking for elected officials that represent us, our concerns, and our wellbeing, we must work for fair elections and Ranked Choice Voting is critical to our goals. Be an advocate and help institute RCV in your community, state, and national elections.
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