My Case for Ranked-Choice Voting

Political polarization is pulling our nation apart. Voters are forced to choose between two political parties that seem more interested in winning elections than improving the country. Ranked Choice Voting would free voters from bipartisan politics. We could vote for anyone we want, without the fear of a wasted vote. We would have better candidates on our ballots, more positivity in our elections, and leaders that take a unified and holistic approach to governance.

Advantages of Ranked Choice Voting

We could vote for the candidates we truly believe in. There would be no fear of a wasted vote. We could freely vote for independents, third-party candidates, and candidates that were excluded by the primaries.

Our ballots would be filled with good candidates! America thrives on competition, why not bring more competition into our elections? Of the 330 million U.S. citizens, we ought to be electing the cream of the crop — not the lesser of two evils.

Ranked Choice Voting would end radical polarization. Candidates would want to appeal to everybody. Rather than yelling at each other and pointing fingers, we would have intelligent conversations about the things we agree need to get done. We would have leaders that make good decisions about complicated issues; leaders that promote kinship and community.

Faults of the Current Bipartisan System

The bipartisan system is at the root of every problem in the United States. We have a divided leadership that systematically disagrees on everything. Politics are not beneficial to democracy. Filibusters and gerrymandering, riders on unrelated bills and election contributions from outside interests. Delaying and obstructing rather than negotiating and building.

Political parties openly seek power over all three branches of government. This is a violation of Checks and Balances, a disgrace to the core of the Constitution itself. We have two oligarchies running our country, fighting for the power to undo and redo each other’s work. This is not a government for the people, by the people.

Our leaders don’t represent everybody. In fact, they actively divide people. Winning elections through negativity and fear-mongering, often with less than half of the vote. Better leadership would take a holistic approach to governance, and make balanced decisions about complicated issues. Better leadership would promote kinship and community, rather than looking at one side of every argument and dividing people along party lines.

A Grassroots Movement

Tell people about Ranked Choice Voting! Ranked Choice Voting has already been adopted in Maine, and in dozens of cities across the country. There are two bills in congress to implement Ranked Choice Voting, the Ranked Choice Voting Act and the Voter Choice Act (these links bring you to a tool to email your representative in congress!).

In Bloomington and Minnetonka, vote YES for Ranked Choice Voting this election!

Trevor Zarecki, Minneapolis