MA question #2: Rank Choice voting

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Ballot question #2 in Massachusetts is to implement rank choice voting for state races. This is the only vote where I am still moveable (I am voting a straight Democratic slate and supporting Right to Repair).

I am leaning towards voting yes for Rank Choice voting. This would mean that instead of one vote for a candidate, we would choose our top three. If my first choice lost and no other candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, then my second choice counts.

I would like to hear any arguments against Rank Choice Voting. The arguments I have heard so far are cost and possible confusion.

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@maxdancona,

ranking was used in the early nation for pres and vice pres, so it was usual to have the top two execs to be on each others case. Look at Adams and Jefferson.

6 math combinations could result in an unclear result, especially with a douche bag like a Trump wannabe.

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In Maine the Republicans feel that it hurts their chances. In practical experience this is because they often rely on the fact that the conservative vote , while smaller than the center/left vote, usually remains unified around the Republican candidate whereas there are often Green and other left-leaning independents who end up drawing voters away from the Democratic ticket. A few elections ago the winning gubernatorial candidate won a four way race with 38% of the vote — hardly a mandate. So if you're counting on winning the election without a majority, you don't want ranked choice available. Seems to me they should just change their party's policies to attract more voters and win with a majority.

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@hightor,

I think ranked choice enables third party and independent candidates. You no longer have the conundrum of having to "throw your vote away" to vote for a candidate outside the two main parties.

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Preferential voting best represents the opinions of that portion of the electorate that can be bothered to vote.

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@engineer,

It also tends to promote slightly more civility as candidates know that if they don't clear 50% in the initial count, some of the votes that went to their opponents might end up in their column in the later counts if they haven't alienated those voters by bad-mouthing their preferred candidate.

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@maxdancona,

I was hoping that someone could give me the "against" argument. But, thank you all.

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@maxdancona,

I can't help you with any "against" arguments. I think it's an interesting system and would probably vote to have it if it were on my ballot.

I guess one possible "against" would be that the complexity might confuse some voters, and might lead to counting errors.

But that would not convince me to be against the system. I think we could manage to count accurately, and I am unsympathetic to stupid people.

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@maxdancona,

maxdancona wrote:

I was hoping that someone could give me the "against" argument. But, thank you all.

It's not Democracy?

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@McGentrix,

How would ranked choice voting not be democracy?

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@oralloy,

Gordon Weil, a former Maine state agency head and municipal selectman, argued in a 2015 piece for CentralMaine.com that RCV runs counter to the democratic process:

Quote:

Ranked-choice voting is the flavor of the day. And it will turn out to have a bitter taste.
Its advocates want to replace real democracy, in which a majority picks the winner, with something akin to a game show method of selection. The result could be more like “Family Feud” than a decision about one of the most important choices people can make.
The problem, its advocates say, is that our political system is based on a choice between two candidates, but we frequently have several more in the race.

Quote:

Ranked-choice proponents dislike [other types of] primaries, because fringe candidates can win, producing an unhappy choice in the general election. That sounds like the position of philosopher-kings who really don’t trust democracy and certainly want to see the end of political parties. If there’s something wrong with [other types of] primaries, find a way to get more people to vote. But don’t manipulate their voting. ... If we want decisions guaranteed to be made by a majority, then a runoff is a better idea, because it allows voters to make a clear choice rather than the muddled, computer-run outcome of ranked-choice voting.

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@McGentrix,

Quote:

If we want decisions guaranteed to be made by a majority, then a runoff is a better idea, because it allows voters to make a clear choice rather than the muddled, computer-run outcome of ranked-choice voting.

Then why not call ranked-choice voting, "instant runoff" voting — because that's what it is. Why pay to hold another election which will have the same result as the results in the second ranking? The outcomes, by the way, aren't "computer-run"; computers are simply used to help tally votes.

It's interesting that McG would refer to Gordon Weil, a state politician who I've known of for a long time. Remember, I said Maine Republicans didn't like the system — that's only because the first time it was employed their weak candidate lost in the second round. The thing is, in another election, the process could just as easily help a Republican get a majority so I think Weil's being a bit disingenuous here. He wrote this opinion several years ago; the system has now been used in three election cycles and I'd be interested in what he thinks about RCV today.

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@hightor,

maxdancona wrote:

I was hoping that someone could give me the "against" argument. But, thank you all.

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@McGentrix,

Yes, I saw that. And I gave a reason in my first response. If you prefer a "first past the post" victory instead of a victory by the candidate with the majority of the vote then you would use that as an argument against ranked-choice voting.

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