{"id":2412051,"date":"2025-03-10T14:23:02","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T18:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-morissey-mum-on-signing-bill-banning-rcv-in-west-virginia\/"},"modified":"2025-03-10T14:26:10","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T18:26:10","slug":"gov-morissey-mum-on-signing-bill-banning-rcv-in-west-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-morissey-mum-on-signing-bill-banning-rcv-in-west-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Morissey Mum On Signing Bill Banning RCV In West Virginia"},"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\">22<\/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%2Fgov-morissey-mum-on-signing-bill-banning-rcv-in-west-virginia%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=2412051&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--><p>A bill prohibiting\u200c ranked-choice voting (RCV) in \u2063West Virginia elections,\u2064 known as \u2064SB \u2062490, has been passed by teh state \u2063House and Senate and is now awaiting approval from governor \u200cPatrick Morrisey. The bill states that no elections office in the\u200b state can utilize RCV or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-ranked-choice-voting-is-deeply-flawed\/\" title=\"Why Ranked Choice ... Is Deeply Flawed\">instant runoff voting<\/a> systems.\u200b this measure \u200caims to\u2062 invalidate any existing or future \u2063local government ordinances that support RCV. <\/p>\n<p>Critics of RCV, often referred to as \u200b\u201crigged-choice voting,\u201d argue that it complicates elections \u2062and can lead to \u2064inaccurate results and \u200ca high number of discarded ballots. Although the bill has\u2064 gained \u200bimportant legislative \u2063support, Governor Morrisey\u200b has not\u200d publicly \u2062confirmed whether he will sign it into\u200d law, leaving the outcome uncertain.If enacted, West Virginia would become the\u2063 twelfth \u2062state to prohibit RCV in \u2063its \u2063elections.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DdnZoz3sTM4\">WCHS Eyewitness News\/YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/gov-morissey-mum-on-whether-he-will-sign-bill-protecting-west-virginia-elections-from-ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Gov.%20Morissey%20Mum%20On%20Whether%20He%20Will%20Sign%20Bill%20Protecting%20West%20Virginia%20Elections%20From%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/gov-morissey-mum-on-whether-he-will-sign-bill-protecting-west-virginia-elections-from-ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Gov.%20Morissey%20Mum%20On%20Whether%20He%20Will%20Sign%20Bill%20Protecting%20West%20Virginia%20Elections%20From%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/gov-morissey-mum-on-whether-he-will-sign-bill-protecting-west-virginia-elections-from-ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\" https:><\/path><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/gov-morissey-mum-on-whether-he-will-sign-bill-protecting-west-virginia-elections-from-ranked-choice-voting\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Gov.%20Morissey%20Mum%20On%20Whether%20He%20Will%20Sign%20Bill%20Protecting%20West%20Virginia%20Elections%20From%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/03\/10\/gov-morissey-mum-on-whether-he-will-sign-bill-protecting-west-virginia-elections-from-ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\"><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &amp; Email\"><span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<p>A bill prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in West Virginia elections is on its way to Gov. Patrick Morrisey&rsquo;s desk for signature. But the Republican governor is remaining mum on whether he&rsquo;ll sign it into law. <\/p>\n<p>Passed by the state House (87-9-4) on Friday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wvlegislature.gov\/Bill_Status\/bills_history.cfm?INPUT=490&amp;year=2025&amp;sessiontype=RS\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 490<\/a> stipulates that &ldquo;[n]o state, county, or local elections office may use ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting to conduct an election or nomination of any candidate in this state for any local government, statewide, or federal elective office.&rdquo; Any &ldquo;existing or future ordinance&rdquo; adopted by a local government promoting the use of such a system would be declared void under the measure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-1946337026\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The bill cleared the state Senate (31-2-1) last Tuesday. <\/p>\n<p>Often referred to as &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">rigged-choice voting&#038;rdquo<\/a>; by its critics,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RCV<\/a>&nbsp;is a system in which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/these-30-house-races-will-determine-if-republicans-or-democrats-win-the-majority\/\" title=\"These 30 House Races Will Determine if Republicans or Democrats Win the Majority\">voters rank candidates<\/a> in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes in the first round of voting, the last-place finisher is eliminated, and his votes are reallocated to the voter&rsquo;s second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.<\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s unclear, however, whether Morrisey will sign SB 490 into law. When pressed on whether he intends to sign the bill, the GOP governor&rsquo;s office did not respond to The Federalist&rsquo;s request for comment.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>[READ:[READ:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2025\/02\/05\/after-2024-victories-republicans-aim-to-send-disastrous-ranked-choice-voting-into-extinction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">After 2024 Victories, Republicans Aim To Send &lsquo;Disastrous&rsquo; Ranked-Choice Voting Into Extinction<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As The Federalist previously reported, RCV has&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/10\/31\/ranked-choice-voting-is-the-monster-under-the-bed-of-american-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">primarily<\/a>&nbsp;been&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/15\/communists-cheer-ranked-choice-voting-as-a-weapon-for-defeating-conservatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pushed<\/a>&nbsp;by Democrats and has led to the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2022\/09\/01\/sarah-palin-should-blame-lisa-murkowski-for-her-special-election-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Democrat<\/a>&nbsp;victory of seats for which Republican candidates ultimately received more votes. It has also been shown to&nbsp;produce&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2023\/03\/17\/minnesota-could-be-third-state-to-adopt-ranked-choice-voting-following-alaska-and-maine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inaccurate election results<\/a>&nbsp;and high rates of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/03\/06\/watch-how-ranked-choice-voting-complicates-elections-and-disenfranchises-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">discarded ballots<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>To further the system&rsquo;s use throughout the country, RCV proponents have taken to weaponizing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/meet-the-nonpartisan-dark-money-group-rigging-michigan-elections-so-democrats-cant-lose\/\" title=\"Dark-money group rigging Michigan ...s to prevent Democratic losses.\">ballot initiative process<\/a> in recent elections. <\/p>\n<p>In the 2024 contest, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/06\/voters-across-the-country-take-a-sledgehammer-to-ranked-choice-voting-initiatives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pro-RCV measures<\/a> were on the ballot in &ldquo;red states&rdquo; such as Idaho and Montana. Both initiatives &mdash; and several other such measures &mdash; were overwhelmingly defeated by voters. <\/p>\n<p>It&rsquo;s worth mentioning that multiple campaigns backing pro-RCV ballot causes have been flooded with out-of-state dark money.<\/p>\n<p>In the case of Idaho, out-of-state&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Idaho_Proposition_1,_Top-Four_Ranked-Choice_Voting_Initiative_(2024)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">groups<\/a>&nbsp;with leftist ties collectively gave millions of dollars to the organization supporting the 2024 RCV ballot initiative. A similar case was also seen in Alaska, where a measure seeking to repeal the state&rsquo;s RCV system was <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/11\/21\/boosted-by-out-of-state-dark-money-alaskas-ranked-choice-voting-system-is-here-to-stay\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narrowly defeated<\/a> by an organization heavily backed by dark money from the Lower 48.<\/p>\n<p>If signed into law, SB 490 would make West Virginia the 12th state to prohibit the use of RCV in its elections, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ballotpedia<\/a>. <\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      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<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/alaska\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Alaska<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/dark-money\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">dark money<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/election-integrity\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">election integrity<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/idaho\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Idaho<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/maine\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Maine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/patrick-morrisey\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Patrick Morrisey<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ranked-choice-voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ranked-choice voting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/rcv\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">RCV<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/rigged-choice-voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">rigged-choice voting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/west-virginia\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">West Virginia<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A bill banning ranked-choice voting in West Virginia is headed to Gov. Patrick Morrisey for approval, but he hasn&#8217;t indicated if he&#8217;ll sign it<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2412052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Patrick-Morrisey.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[51884,51885,47453],"class_list":["post-2412051","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-gov-morissey","tag-rcv-ban","tag-west-virginia"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Patrick-Morrisey.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412051","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=2412051"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412051\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2412055,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2412051\/revisions\/2412055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2412052"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2412051"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2412051"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2412051"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}