By Anna Froehling

In recent weeks, we have seen political divisions impair our nation’s ability to act on behalf of its people. Ranked Choice Voting diminishes political polarization, and during a crisis like this, I am more convinced than ever that we need a voting system that allows and encourages leaders to function in a bipartisan fashion.

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Because of COVID-19 social distancing, political conventions are going virtual. The Minnesota DFL has decided that delegates will use online Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for races that have multiple candidates vying for endorsement. The Utah GOP will also use RCV.

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By Margaret Swanson

I was one of 52,000 Minnesotans who voted early in the presidential primary for a candidate who eventually dropped out. Because that is always a possibility, I waited until Monday, March 2 to vote. I voted for Amy Klobuchar at 11 am. By noon, she had suspended her candidacy.

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Amy Klobuchar, Pete Buttigieg and Tom Steyer announced they were dropping out of the presidential race, just hours before voters go to the polls on Super Tuesday. Millions of voters in those states, including here in Minnesota, have already cast their ballots through early voting, and many of those votes may not be counted because their preferred candidate dropped out of the race. It doesn't need to be this way! 

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US Rep Dean Phillips (D-3rd District, MN) and Senators Michael Bennett (D-CO) and Angus King (I-ME) introduced legislation that provides support to local and state governments to implement Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). The Voter Choice Act would allocate $40 million in federal grants to cover up to 50 percent of the transition costs for local and state governments that adopt RCV. 

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By Editorial Board

Single-winner elections do a poor job of winnowing a large field of candidates down to one who reflects majority agreement, and encourage the type of nastiness we’re seeing now, because it’s all-or-nothing for each candidate. And the winner of this process can be the choice of as little as 25 or 30 percent of the electorate, which is another way of saying that he or she was not the choice of up to three-quarters of voters … There is a straightforward and elegant solution: ranked-choice voting, also known as instant-runoff voting. Already in use all over the world and in cities and towns across the United States, it’s a popular and proven way of electing leaders who are — what a radical notion! — actually supported by most voters. It is effective in any multicandidate race, but it’s ideal for making sense of a large and fractured pool of candidates.

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By US Rep. Dean Phillips, Penny and Bill George, Tom Horner, Peter Hutchinson and Karla Ekdahl

In a highly fractured primary field like the one we have now, there’s no way to know under the current system who most American voters support. Ranked-choice voting (RCV) would allow voters to rank their preferences rather than vote for just a single choice. If their first choice doesn’t make it through, their second choice counts. RCV eliminates vote-splitting and spoiler dynamics, incentivizes candidates to appeal beyond their base for second-choice votes, discourages harmful attacks against one another and allows the ultimate nominee to build a broad base of support among a majority (50% + 1) of voters.

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By Mike Hanks

Elkins, a proponent of ranked-choice voting, thinks there’s more interest among school boards in adopting the system, as it’s an anecdote to bullet balloting. He said that the use of ranked-choice voting in St. Louis Park during the past election was successful and uneventful. He’s also a proponent of the system during primary elections such as the upcoming presidential primary, where the winner in Minnesota among a field of Democrats seeking the party nomination will likely win with less than 20 percent of the votes cast. The single-vote scenario this year doesn’t ensure that the state’s winner has the support of the majority of Democratic voters.

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By Laurie Aho

I am thrilled that Minnesota has moved to a presidential primary and abandoned the exclusionary caucus system. However, as I follow the Democratic 2020 field, I believe there is more we can do to promote a fair and productive process for choosing our leaders … This year, in particular, makes me wish our state used ranked-choice voting like several other states are doing.

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By ECM Editorial Board

On March 3, Minnesotans will go to the polls to help its major political parties choose their presidential candidates … The DFL Party has decided to put 15 candidates on its ballot. If ever there were an argument for ranked-choice voting, this is it. With 15 candidates, the winning Democrat will be unlikely to receive a majority, and may not even be the choice of a third of those voters.

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By David Leonhardt

We have an unnecessarily weak presidential field … [In addition to other reforms], more states should adopt ranked-choice voting, allowing voters to list their second and third choices … Ranked choice can prevent the Trump phenomenon during the 2016 Republican primaries. Trump may have solid Republican support today, but he didn’t back then. Even though most Republican voters opposed him, his dedicated base let him emerge from a large field.

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By Laura Calbone & Marcia Wattson

Congratulations to mayor-elect Tim Busse, new at-large city council member Jenna Carter and returning council members Dwayne Lowman and Shawn Nelson. While the races weren’t as contentious as state and federal races have been, the polarization was noticeable. Considering how gridlocked and incapable of compromise the state and federal governments are, let’s take action to reduce political tension at the local level.

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By every measure, Ranked Choice Voting was a big success in St. Louis Park and St. Paul in 2019. The numbers tell the story and detail how Ranked Choice Voting overwhelmingly met voters’ expectations.

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By Seth Rowe

Three candidates for St. Louis Park City Council, an outgoing council member and FairVote Minnesota supporters lauded the city’s first election using ranked-choice voting.

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By Jeanne Massey

Our current state of extreme divisiveness didn’t start under the current presidency, but it has certainly intensified … Political scientists, electoral reformers, economists and legislators are all coming together around a simple, viable and powerful electoral reform solution —  ranked-choice voting.

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By Tim Hannemann

One of the most important issues to me is fixing our broken, divisive electoral system, and it starts right here in our community. I believe ranked-choice voting is the solution to increasing political polarization. In a voting paradigm of lesser-of-two-evils decision-making, we need a way for voters to actively support what they want, rather than just avoid what they really don’t want. 

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By Editorial Board

New Yorkers like to think of their city as a place of bold, progressive innovation, but when it comes to the democratic process, New York is too often stuck in the dark ages. Ranked-choice voting is a smart, tested reform that would make certain that New Yorkers elect candidates who have the support of a majority of voters. Isn’t that how democracy is supposed to work?

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Political polarization and gridlock are at an all-time high. How can Ranked Choice Voting fix our broken political system?

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Find out where the 2019 candidates for Mayor and City Council stand on Ranked Choice Voting.

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By Lori Sturdevant

With no real hope of winning, third-party presidential candidates serve as spoilers. They thwart majority rule, undermine the winner’s legitimacy and risk an undesirable outcome … “I’d advise people who don’t like the two-party system to put your efforts into structural reforms of the political process,” Horner said, mentioning ideas like ranked-choice voting, putting redistricting into nonpartisan hands and limiting big-money influence in campaigns. “Until we do those things, we won’t have an opportunity for a third party to succeed.”

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