{"id":1944454,"date":"2023-06-05T14:16:01","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T18:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ranked-choice-voting-is-so-bad-for-elections-even-d-c-democrats-are-rejecting-it\/"},"modified":"2023-06-05T14:18:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T18:18:10","slug":"ranked-choice-voting-is-so-bad-for-elections-even-d-c-democrats-are-rejecting-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ranked-choice-voting-is-so-bad-for-elections-even-d-c-democrats-are-rejecting-it\/","title":{"rendered":"DC Democrats are rejecting ranked-choice voting due to its negative impact on elections."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Franked-choice-voting-is-so-bad-for-elections-even-d-c-democrats-are-rejecting-it%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1944454&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Washington, D.C. Democrats Reject Ranked-Choice Voting<\/h2>\n<div>\n<figure>\n    <!-- Image goes here --><br \/>\n  <\/figure>\n<p>The Democrat Party in Washington, D.C. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/d-c-democrats-oppose-ranked-choice-voting-in-city-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">formally rejected<\/a> the use of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/andrew-yang-has-commanding-lead-in-nyc-mayoral-race-poll-shows\/\" title=\"Andrew Yang Has Commanding Lead In NYC Mayoral Race, Poll Shows\">ranked-choice voting<\/a> (RCV) in city elections last week, citing concerns that the voting system \u201ccould hinder voter engagement and participation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under RCV, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes in the first round of voting, the last-place finisher is eliminated, and their votes are reallocated to the voter\u2019s second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe acknowledge that RCV may be a suitable option for certain jurisdictions, however, when considering the District\u2019s specific circumstances, we have identified significant concerns that prevent us from endorsing this approach,\u201d a statement released by party leaders on Wednesday reads. \u201c[The] fundamental issue we identified is that District wards are not equal in terms of voter turnout. Implementing RCV would not adequately address this disparity and could potentially undermine the democratic principles we strive to uphold.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Party leaders expressed concern that the implementation of RCV would limit voters\u2019 ability to choose their preferred nominee in any given election and result in potential voter disenfranchisement. \u201cWe firmly believe that every voter, regardless of party affiliation or independent status, should have the right to freely choose their preferred candidate,\u201d the party\u2019s statement continues.<\/p>\n<h3>Issues with Ranked-Choice Voting<\/h3>\n<p>Various U.S. municipalities that have adopted RCV have experienced confusing and even inaccurate election outcomes. In an Oakland school board race, for instance, \u201celection officials announced \u2014 two months after the fact \u2014 that they got the count wrong,\u201d resulting in the \u201crightful winner \u2026 suing for his seat.\u201d Meanwhile, a Utah town that used an RCV pilot program for its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ranked-choice-voting-is-so-bad-for-elections-even-d-c-democrats-are-rejecting-it\/\" title=\"DC Democrats are rejecting ranked-choice voting due to its negative impact on elections.\">2021 municipal elections experienced high rates<\/a> of ballots being discarded or spoiled.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>In the Genola City Council Race 1, for example, \u201c58% of ballots were either discarded out of hand or otherwise spoiled,\u201d while the Genola City Council Race 2 \u201chad a discarded or spoiled rate of over 74%.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Maine and Alaska \u2014 the only two states to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sarah-palin-makes-it-to-the-next-stage-of-alaska-race\/\" title=\"Sarah Palin Makes It To The Next Stage Of Alaska Race\">implement ranked-choice voting<\/a> so far \u2014 have also had their fair share of problems, such as election outcomes that contradict the will of voters. In Maine, then-incumbent GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin lost to Democrat Jared Golden during the 2018 midterms, despite Poliquin winning the most votes in the first round of voting. That outcome was due to the state\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/glenn-youngkin-wins-gop-nomination-for-governor-of-virginia\/\" title=\"Glenn Youngkin Wins GOP Nomination For Governor Of Virginia\">ranked-choice voting system<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, in Alaska, Democrat Mary Peltola won the state\u2019s at-large congressional seat last year even though \u201cnearly 60 percent of voters [cast] their ballots for a Republican.\u201d RCV also played a major role in helping Alaska GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski fend off a challenge from Trump-backed Kelly Tshibaka during the 2022 midterms. The system allowed her to win due to being listed second on Alaska Democrats\u2019 ranked-choice ballots.<\/p>\n<h3>The Future of RCV in D.C.<\/h3>\n<p>While D.C. Democrats appear to have halted RCV\u2019s infiltration in D.C. elections for the moment, city voters may ultimately have the final say on the matter. Last month, Make All Votes Count DC, a pro-RCV group, filed a proposal with the D.C. Board of Elections that seeks to implement RCV in the district\u2019s elections. According to <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/VzYtU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a>, the proposal \u2014 which would also let unaffiliated voters cast ballots in party primaries \u2014 can only appear on the 2024 ballot if the Board of Elections \u201cdecide[s] that it meets a set of criteria, including that the measure is constitutional, is a proper subject and does not require appropriating funds.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Make All Votes Count DC must also collect \u201csignatures of support from at least 5 percent of registered voters citywide, including in at least five of the eight wards,\u201d according to the Post. If approved by voters, the city would begin using an RCV-style system in 2026.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, D.C. Democrats rejected ranked-choice voting (RCV) in city elections, citing concerns that it could impede voter engagement. RCV allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, but if no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the system redistributes votes until a winner is determined. Critics call it &#8220;rigged-choice voting.&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":1944455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[3685,6571,5663,6296,9983,6336,4351],"class_list":["post-1944454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-democrats","tag-elections","tag-impact","tag-negative","tag-ranked-choice","tag-rejecting","tag-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944454","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1944454"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1944454\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1944455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1944454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1944454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1944454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}