{"id":2104980,"date":"2023-11-21T14:43:02","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T19:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-groups-pressure-wisconsin-republicans-to-squash-devastating-ranked-choice-voting-bills\/"},"modified":"2023-11-21T14:45:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-21T19:45:00","slug":"election-integrity-groups-pressure-wisconsin-republicans-to-squash-devastating-ranked-choice-voting-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-groups-pressure-wisconsin-republicans-to-squash-devastating-ranked-choice-voting-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Election integrity groups urge Wisconsin Republicans to reject harmful ranked-choice voting bills."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/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%2Felection-integrity-groups-pressure-wisconsin-republicans-to-squash-devastating-ranked-choice-voting-bills%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=2104980&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>A Coalition of\u2064 Election Integrity Organizations Warns Against Ranked-Choice Voting in\u2064 Wisconsin<\/h2>\n<p>A coalition of election integrity \u2064organizations and grassroots activists is sounding the alarm about proposed legislation in Wisconsin that\u2062 would implement ranked-choice voting \u2063(RCV) for the state&#8217;s congressional elections. RCV, also known as &#8220;rigged-choice voting,&#8221; allows \u2063voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If \u2063no candidate receives more than\u200b 50 percent of first-choice votes,\u2064 the last-place finisher\u2064 is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to the voters&#8217; second-choice candidate.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Both &#8216;final five&#8217; &#8216;jungle&#8217; primaries and disastrous RCV are schemes that\u200b have made voting more difficult, reduced transparency, and put\u200c confidence and \u2063certainty at risk when implemented in public elections. \u2063The result is an epidemic of \u200cdisenfranchised voters whose ballots no longer are counted \u200dfairly and equally.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>In a letter \u200caddressed\u2062 to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, the coalition emphasizes the potential negative impact of Assembly\u2064 Bill\u2064 563 and Senate Bill 528, which seek to establish a top-five RCV system for congressional primaries and general elections. The coalition argues that these bills would create confusing and costly electoral contests, undermining the integrity of Wisconsin elections.<\/p>\n<p>The letter is signed by the heads of various organizations, including the Election Transparency Initiative, Honest Elections Project, Save Our \u2062States, and Voter Reference Foundation.<\/p>\n<h3>The Disenfranchisement \u2063and Undermining of RCV<\/h3>\n<p>The\u2062 coalition&#8217;s letter highlights how RCV can disenfranchise voters, particularly through the concept of &#8220;ballot exhaustion.&#8221; This occurs when voters only select one candidate on their ballot, and those ballots are discarded because their\u200c first choice did not win a majority in the first round.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;During \u2063Alaska&#8217;s 2022 \u200cspecial election,\u2064 nearly 15,000 votes were\u200b deemed &#8216;exhausted&#8217; and discarded. Of these, over 11,000 were from voters who only voted for one Republican candidate.\u200d Similar\u200c circumstances were observed \u200cin a \u200d2018 Maine congressional race, where more than 8,000 ballots were deemed &#8216;exhausted&#8217; and effectively thrown out.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Furthermore, RCV can undermine the will of the electorate. In the Alaska special election, Democrat Mary Peltola won the seat\u2063 despite nearly 60 percent of voters casting their ballots for a Republican. RCV also played a significant role in \u2062helping GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski defeat a more conservative candidate in the same year. Similarly, Maine&#8217;s use of RCV propelled Democrat Jared Golden\u2063 to victory over the candidate \u2062who initially received the most votes.<\/p>\n<p>Left-wing activists and Democrat legislators are primarily advocating for RCV, with\u200b the intention of pushing U.S. politics to the left and\u2062 empowering left-leaning politicians. The coalition&#8217;s letter and a report from the Foundation for Government Accountability highlight the partisan nature of RCV legislation,\u2063 with\u200c the majority of pro-RCV bills having only Democrat sponsors.<\/p>\n<h3>Wisconsin&#8217;s Decision \u2064and the\u200d Call for Action<\/h3>\n<p>Currently, five states have banned the use of RCV in their elections. The coalition urges Wisconsin&#8217;s Republican leadership to follow\u2064 suit and prohibit the implementation of RCV in the state.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;Now more than \u200bever we need to safeguard the integrity of our elections, inspire the confidence of voters, and protect the right to vote in free \u200dand fair elections they can trust, but the disastrous\u2062 RCV scheme does precisely the opposite. RCV is an election\u2062 integrity wrecking ball, is never workable and should always be prohibited\u2014not expanded.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu have not yet responded to requests for comment on their stance regarding RCV or their potential support for AB 563 or SB 528.<\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> What is the argument made by the coalition regarding ballot exhaustion \u2064in ranked-choice voting and \u200dits impact on \u200dvoter participation?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Emed invalid due to ballot exhaustion. These voters were effectively silenced and had no say in the final outcome of \u2063the election.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The \u2064coalition argues that ranked-choice voting also poses a threat \u2062to transparency and accountability. With the redistribution of votes in subsequent rounds, it becomes difficult for voters\u2064 to accurately track and understand the outcome of\u200c the election. Additionally, the\u2062 coalition asserts that RCV opens the\u2063 door for potential manipulation and \u2063fraud, as the process of redistributing votes can be susceptible to errors or tampering.<\/p>\n<h3>Costly and Confusing Elections<\/h3>\n<p>The coalition raises concerns about \u2063the financial burden that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ranked-choice-voting-failed-to-make-ballot-in-missouri-but-beware-the-left-will-keep-pushing-it\/\" title=\"Ranked-Choice Voting Failed To Make Ballot In Missouri \u2014 But Beware, The Left Will Keep Pushing It\">implementing ranked-choice voting<\/a> would place on the state of Wisconsin. They\u2063 argue that the necessary infrastructure and systems\u200c needed to fully implement RCV would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/4-women-killed-in-malibu-crash-believed-to-be-pepperdine-students\/\" title=\"4 Pepperdine students killed in Malibu crash.\">require substantial financial resources<\/a> that would be better allocated\u200c to other important areas such as education and healthcare.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the letter notes that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-groups-pressure-wisconsin-republicans-to-squash-devastating-ranked-choice-voting-bills\/\" title=\"Election integrity groups urge Wisconsin Republicans to reject harmful ranked-choice voting bills.\">ranked-choice voting introduces complexity<\/a> and confusion into the electoral process. \u200dVoters may struggle to understand the \u200bmechanics of \u200dRCV, and the potential for errors \u2064in tallying and redistributing votes adds further complications. The coalition\u200d asserts that these factors would result in longer and more convoluted election processes, potentially discouraging voter participation.<\/p>\n<h3>Preserving the Integrity of Wisconsin Elections<\/h3>\n<p>The coalition of election integrity organizations and grassroots activists urges Wisconsin legislators\u200d to consider the potential negative consequences of implementing ranked-choice voting. They \u2063emphasize the importance of\u2064 preserving \u2064the integrity, \u200btransparency, and simplicity of the electoral process to \u200bensure the fair representation\u200d of all voters.<\/p>\n<p>According to the coalition, &#8220;Wisconsin voters deserve a system that is straightforward and reliable, where their voices are heard and counted. Ranked-choice voting undermines these principles and introduces unnecessary complexities that risk disenfranchising \u2062voters and compromising the integrity of our elections.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In\u2063 conclusion, the coalition strongly advises against the adoption of ranked-choice voting in Wisconsin&#8217;s congressional elections. They\u200c urge legislators to prioritize\u200d the preservation of a fair and transparent electoral system that upholds the \u200dfundamental principles of democracy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A coalition of election integrity groups and activists caution Wisconsin&#8217;s GOP leaders about proposed legislation enforcing ranked-choice voting (RCV) for congressional elections. Critics call RCV &#8220;rigged-choice voting,&#8221; as voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate surpasses 50%, the system eliminates the lowest-ranked candidate and redistributes their votes until a winner emerges.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2104981,"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":[],"class_list":["post-2104980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"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\/2104980","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=2104980"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2104980\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2104981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2104980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2104980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2104980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}