Mr. Ranked Choice Voting
Hello, I hope the Holiday Season is gearing up for you and yours!
A couple years ago, I was on a Zoom with a couple of activists who wanted to improve our democracy. I asked them, “Who is the most well-known, prominent advocate for ranked choice voting?”
They answered with two words: “Probably you.”
That answer stunned me. Really? That didn’t seem possible. But after I reflected I realized it might be true, simply because I was perhaps the most significant political figure who wasn’t beholden to either of the major parties. It’s hard for a Democratic or Republican political figure to be for Ranked Choice Voting simply because their party might take a different position on it as against their interests.
Indeed, last month when I was in Nevada campaigning for Question 3, people were showing me text messages from the Democratic Party saying “Vote No on Question 3, because it will be too confusing and cumbersome for people to vote.” Yes, that was their primary argument: choosing more than one candidate would be too confusing, despite copious real-life experience with Ranked Choice Voting that the vast majority of voters find it easy to use and want to use it again.
What’s the real reason? It loosens party control and gives voters more autonomy.
I realized months ago that most all of the solutions I proposed on the presidential trail would only happen if we had a system like Ranked Choice Voting that empowered voters to vote for whomever they want and allowed both new perspectives to emerge but also fostered a greater degree of accountability among elected officials. I wrote my book, “Forward” as what I hoped would be a thoroughly entertaining but well-researched argument for Ranked Choice Voting. RCV is obviously core to the Forward Party’s agenda.
(For a video explaining Ranked Choice Voting if you’re new to it, click here. It’s the bomb.)
Still, I’m a relative newbie when it comes to this reform mission. You know who the real Mr. RCV is? Rob Richie.
Rob, whom I interview on the podcast this week, is the co-founder and CEO of Fairvote, a non-profit organization that has been promoting Ranked Choice Voting for 30 years. Yes, that’s right, Rob was so far ahead of the curve he’s been arguing for this since 1992. He has made it his life’s work.
“I got started in the early 90’s in my 20s because I thought it would be important to have more choices in the presidential election. We were a tiny crew back then. We've come a long way and have been receiving a ton of new energy and support. It’s very exciting. RCV passed in 8 new cities and counties this Election Day, bringing it up to about 60. Our goal is 500 communities using RCV over the next few years.”
At the state level, RCV took a big leap forward when it was adopted by Maine in 2016. Explains Rob, “Maine had had 3 straight governors who won with less than 50% of the vote because of more than 2 candidates running. Eventually they said, ‘we should fix this system so the winner needs to get a majority’ and adopted RCV.” Alaska followed suit in 2020, which led to the results we saw this period with Sarah Palin losing, Mary Peltola winning, and Lisa Murkowski winning despite voting to impeach Trump.
Fairvote also helps colleges adopt Ranked Choice Voting for student council elections and organizations do the same. The theory is that if thousands of college students get used to RCV, they’ll think “Why isn’t this being adopted for all elections?” It’s pretty ingenious.
Rob sees RCV as a big piece of the puzzle, but is also excited about other ways for our democracy to advance and evolve. “We should have more than 435 members of Congress given how much our population has grown since 1910, when they capped the number. We are backing the Fair Representation Act, an act of Congress that would shift us to multi-member districts and would lead to a multi-party system. The great thing is it’s just a law – a simple majority of Congress could pass it.”
I was invited to join the Board of Fairvote Action last year and gladly agreed. I see Fairvote and Forward as allies in the same fight for a better system of governance that places people and voters first.
Though RCV has more momentum than it ever has, because Rob’s been at this for so long, he takes the long view. “There will be progress and stumbles, victories and pullbacks.” Hopefully, if enough of us make our voices heard, we’ll have a lot more wins than losses, as was the case in Nevada and other communities this November. Let’s keep the wins coming.
For my interview of Rob click here. Check out Fairvote and click here to sign up for the Forward Party in your area. Also 'Forward' is now out on paperback!
