The state of Oregon is now one step closer to implementing ranked-choice voting (RCV) for future elections thanks to a recent measure passed by Oregon Democrats.
In RCV, which its detractors frequently refer to as “rigged choice voting,” voters rank candidates according to their preferences. The candidate in last place is eliminated, and his votes are transferred to the voter’s second-choice candidate, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes in the first round of voting. Until one candidate receives a majority of the votes, this process is repeated.
In the final hours of the 2023 legislative session, Oregon Democrats passed HB 2004, which would have required RCV in all federal and state elections. Additionally, the measure allows localities to use the system in their own elections.
If approved by voters in 2024, the bill would take effect on Jan. 1, 2028.
Various U.S. municipalities that have adopted RCV have experienced confusing and even inaccurate election outcomes. In an Oakland school board race, for instance, “election officials announced — two months after the fact — that they got the count wrong,” resulting in the “rightful winner … suing for his seat.” A Utah town that used an RCV pilot program for its 2021 municipal elections reported having a high rate of spoiled or discarded ballots.
In the Genola City Council Race 1, for example, “58% of ballots were either discarded out of hand or otherwise spoiled,” while the Genola City Council Race 2 “had a discarded or spoiled rate of over 74%.”
The only two states to use ranked-choice voting so far are Alaska and Maine, and both have encountered issues such as election results that go against the wishes of the electorate. Even though “nearly 60% of voters [cast] their ballots for a Republican” in Alaska last year, Democrat Mary Peltola won the state’s at-large congressional seat. RCV also significantly contributed to Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s victory in her bid for reelection in the 2022 midterm elections.
The same thing happened in Maine during the 2018 midterm elections, where Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin, who was in office at the time, lost to Democrat Jared Golden despite receiving the most votes in the first round of voting. The state’s ranked-choice voting system was to blame for that result.
Among the states to have banned the use of ranked-choice voting in elections are Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, Idaho, and Montana.
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