Why Illinois needs ranked choice voting
No matter your political party, we can all agree that elections should be free and fair. But under our current system, not everyone’s vote counts. Not because of fraud or other election-related conspiracies, but because many people wind up voting for someone who isn’t viable.
Let us explain. With more and more people getting access to the ballot via early and absentee voting, some voters cast ballots for candidates who end up dropping out of the race before Election Day. Others vote for a candidate who receives so few votes that they will never win. Colloquially, this is known as a “wasted vote.” A whopping 70,000 Democrats wasted their votes in Illinois’ 2020 presidential primary; the same thing happened to 30,000 Republicans in our state’s 2016 presidential primary.
Ranked choice voting, or RCV, solves these problems, which is why we are working to pass legislation in Springfield to allow for RCV in presidential primaries.
Under RCV, voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so on. If their first choice is not viable, their vote counts for their highest-ranked candidate who is. The ability to rank backup choices ensures that voters’ voices are heard and makes sure no one wastes their vote. In addition, RCV ballots are easy to audit, which improves election security.
RCV also favors candidates with broad appeal and encourages positive campaigning, which would reduce the growing toxicity of our current political landscape.
Because candidates for office need to appeal to all voters, instead of only the voters who will choose them over anyone else, RCV rewards candidates who can appeal to the widest swath of voters. This, in turn, can make positive campaigning a better election strategy than running a slew of negative ads — because going negative may turn off crucial voters whose secondand third-choice votes may make or break the race.
Take Chicago’s mayor’s race as an example. The majority of voters did not cast their ballot for either Brandon Johnson or Paul Vallas in the February election. If Chicago voted with RCV, not only would there not have been an expensive runoff election, but it’s also conceivable that neither of these candidates would be mayor
Take Chicago’s mayor’s race as an example. The majority of voters did not cast their ballot for either Brandon Johnson or Paul Vallas in the February election. If Chicago voted with RCV, not only would there not have been an expensive runoff election, but it’s also conceivable that neither of these candidates would be mayor today.
today.
Voters would have been free to rank their true first choice No. 1, even if that candidate wasn’t ahead in the polls, instead of voting for their second- or thirdchoice candidate out of fear of wasting a vote on someone who didn’t seem likely to win. In addition, RCV ensures that the winning candidate receives more than 50% of the vote once the ranking process is tabulated, whereas under our current system, a candidate can win with under 50% of the vote, so long as they have the largest number of votes.
While opponents of RCV like the far-right Illinois Freedom Caucus say that ranking candidates is “too confusing” or that researching multiple candidates is too burdensome, we know these are just excuses because they are aware that they are not the majority in their own party. Under RCV, far-right and far-left candidates will have to appeal to more voters to win instead of appealing only to a small but vocal base of support.
The truth is simple: RCV is already a proven solution. Three
red states and two blue states already use it in their presidential primaries: Alaska, Kansas, Nevada, Wyoming and Hawaii. In these states’ primaries in 2020, voters ranked candidates at high rates and with almost no errors, showing that voters have no trouble being informed about multiple candidates and adapting to a new system.
Even better, a majority of voters in four of the states that used RCV saw their votes contribute to a candidate winning delegates. This means that more voters’ votes truly mattered, and candidates in RCV states who earned the most delegates had support from the majority of people, not simply the largest number of voters.
Our legislation would allow the Democratic and Republican parties in Illinois to decide whether to adopt RCV for their presidential primary. Because of party rules, if RCV is adopted by the Democrats, delegates would be assigned proportionally between the top ranked candidates who earn 15% or more of the vote, whereas the Republicans assign all delegates to the first ranked candidate.
As we approach the 2024 presidential primary, we need to do everything we can to make sure that Illinois voters’ voices are heard and that candidates who rely on toxic, divisive rhetoric don’t win their party’s nomination. Our country can’t afford to continue down the road of extreme political polarization, especially because most Americans don’t identify with those politics.
Ranked choice voting is the future of elections in America. That’s why we’re fighting to bring RCV to Illinois — because it’s a better system for electing candidates who reflect the true views of American voters.
State Sen. Laura Murphy represents the 28th District, which includes Des Plaines. State Rep. Maurice West represents the 67th District, which includes parts of Rockford.