New Voting Methods

An exciting new grassroots effort is underway in Jacksonville Florida to bring ranked choice voting to future municipal elections. Even though Florida is a plurality state at the state & federal office levels, cities are left to decide for themselves how to handle local elections.

All across Florida, cities have used a majority vote, 2-round run-off system for their local elections for over 40 years. In many cases, these local elections are held in off-years with far less turnout than regular election cycles. 

AUGUSTA, MAINE - Ranked choice voting for the 2020 presidential primary and to determine Electoral College votes is on its way to the desk of Maine Governor Janet Mills. The State Senate passed the ranked choice voting bill, LD 1083, in a 20-12 vote Monday during a special legislative session.

Voter Choice Massachusetts is proposing a ballot initiative to implement ranked choice voting statewide. The group has filed language with the state attorney general ahead of Wednesday's deadline.

Update: Despite passing with strong majorities in both chambers of the legislature, it has come to my attention that the ranked choice voting bill in Maine did not make its way to the governor’s desk. Due to an 11th hour procedural movement, the bill was sent back to the Senate. According to the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, the bill is not dead.

WASHINGTON, DC - The sweeping electoral reform measures encompassed in H.R. 1 expanded even further with the addition of a ranked choice voting clause.

Backers of the bill recently added language proposed by U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md) who represents the district that includes FairVote’s national offices. The common sense change to the bill aims to help states and cities run ranked choice voting elections all the more efficiently by requiring funding for new voting systems to make use of RCV-compatible equipment.

Specifically, the clause states:

There is only one thing that can counter-balance the nefarious forces and entrenched special interests that have compromised our democracy and now threaten the very institutions that have defined our country for almost two and a half centuries. That one thing is the collective voice of We the People.

But where and when can that collective voice be heard?

This column was supposed to be a victory lap of sorts. The NH House Election Law Committee met on February 13, to deliberate about and vote on HB 728, a bill to implement ranked choice voting (“RCV”) in New Hampshire. It offers staggered implementation, starting in 2020 with the first-in-the-nation NH presidential primary.

As the new year begins, state legislatures around the country are convening to tackle the issues of the day. After seeing pro-democracy measures surge on the ballot in the 2018 midterms, it’s no surprise that efforts to address our broken elections continue to dominate discussion among the public and in the halls of power.

Louisiana held a special election for secretary of state in December, since no candidate got over 50% of the vote on Election Day. Yet, despite the fact that over 50% of registered voters turned out in the November election, only 17% turned out in December.

MONTPELIER, VT. - New legislation is slated to be introduced in the Vermont legislature that would implement ranked choice voting for the state's elections. Vermont is one of several states that could soon follow in Maine's footsteps in adopting RCV statewide after a historic 2018 election.

VTDigger reports that Dover independent Rep. Laura Sibilia plans to spearhead RCV efforts in the Vermont State House, while Sen. Chris Pearson (D/P - Chittenden) will introduce legislation in the Senate.