{"id":2581826,"date":"2026-03-19T15:40:01","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:40:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:41:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T19:41:33","slug":"ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/","title":{"rendered":"Ohio, Indiana Approve Bills Banning Ranked-Choice Voting"},"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\">14<\/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%2Fohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections%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=2581826&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>Ohio and Indiana have moved to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/state-lawmakers-should-follow-the-rncs-lead-and-ban-ranked-choice-voting\/\" title=\"... Lawmakers Should Follow the RNC\u2019s Lead and Ban ...\">ban <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><\/a> (RCV) in thier elections.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; In Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine signed SB 63, which prevents elections from being conducted with RCV. If a locality has approved RCV by resolution or ordinance, the state can withhold local government funds for the period the resolution or ordinance is in effect. The law is set to take effect 90 days after approval. SB 63 was introduced by Sen. Theresa Gavarone and Sen. William DeMora and passed the Legislature 65-27 in the House and 24-7 in the Senate.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; In Indiana, Gov. Mike Braun approved SB 12, barring RCV in elections.It states that elections may not be persistent by ranked-choice voting and that candidates may not be nominated for or elected to office by RCV. The measure passed the House 58-30 and the Senate 38-9.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; the article explains that, under RCV, voters rank candidates; if no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and their votes redistributed until a candidate achieves a majority. It notes that RCV can cause voter confusion, delayed results, and \u201cexhausted\u201d ballots.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; Ballotpedia is cited as reporting that 19 states have adopted laws prohibiting the use of RCV.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-harris-is-at-risk-of-losing-pennsylvania-washington-examiner\/\" title=\"Why Harris is at risk of losing Pennsylvania ... Washington Examiner\">piece includes quotes<\/a> from lawmakers and references sources such as Dayton Daily News, framing the bans as a response to perceived problems with ranked-choice voting.  <\/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.pexels.com\/photo\/white-ballot-box-on-the-table-5926417\/\">Sora Shimazaki\/Pexels<\/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\/2026\/03\/19\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/\" 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=Ohio,%20Indiana%20Stop%20The%20%E2%80%98Horrors%E2%80%99%20Of%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting%20From%20Corrupting%20Their%20Elections&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/19\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/\" 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=Ohio,%20Indiana%20Stop%20The%20%E2%80%98Horrors%E2%80%99%20Of%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting%20From%20Corrupting%20Their%20Elections&amp;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/19\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/\" 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\/2026\/03\/19\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/\" 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=Ohio,%20Indiana%20Stop%20The%20%E2%80%98Horrors%E2%80%99%20Of%20Ranked-Choice%20Voting%20From%20Corrupting%20Their%20Elections&amp;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/03\/19\/ohio-indiana-stop-the-horrors-of-ranked-choice-voting-from-corrupting-their-elections\/\" 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>Ohio and Indiana have officially joined a growing number of states prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting (RCV) in their elections.<\/p>\n<p>Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cleveland.com\/news\/2026\/03\/ohio-becomes-19th-state-to-ban-ranked-choice-voting-in-elections.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">signed<\/a> legislation (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislature.ohio.gov\/legislation\/136\/sb63\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 63<\/a>) on Tuesday that <a href=\"https:\/\/search-prod.lis.state.oh.us\/api\/v2\/general_assembly_136\/legislation\/sb63\/05_EN\/pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">prevents<\/a> elections from being conducted with ranked-choice voting (or &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >instant runoff voting&#038;rdquo<\/a>;). Should the secretary of state determine that an Ohio city or locality &ldquo;approved the use&rdquo; of such a system in its elections via resolution or ordinance, &ldquo;then the county or municipal corporation is ineligible to receive any local government fund distributions from the state during the period beginning with the month following the adoption of the resolution or ordinance and ending with the month following the last day it is in effect.&rdquo;<\/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__b89e9-1345850643\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>SB 63 was introduced by Republican Sen. Theresa Gavarone and Democrat Sen. William DeMora and received overwhelming support in the state House (65-27) and Senate (24-7). <\/p>\n<p>Under&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RCV<\/a>, voters rank candidates 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>As The Federalist previously <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\">reported<\/a>, Democrats have often pushed ranked-choice voting as a way of winning races in which Republican candidates receive a majority of the vote. The system has also been shown to produce confusion among voters, delayed election results, and thrown-out (&ldquo;exhausted&rdquo;) ballots.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;From decreasing voter turnout, to even having the losing candidate declared the winner, we have seen the horrors of ranked choice voting play out in several states throughout the country, but that will not happen in Ohio!&rdquo; Gavarone <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/theresagavarone\/status\/2033984785987649744?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a> in a tweet responding to DeWine&rsquo;s signing of SB 63. <\/p>\n<p>The law is expected to take effect 90 days after its approval, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.daytondailynews.com\/local\/dewine-signs-ohio-ranked-choice-voting-ban-into-law\/5S5BNRIJF5AFHKICXCDUCEUYDM\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dayton Daily News<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>DeWine&rsquo;s signature comes nearly a month after GOP Gov. Mike Braun <a href=\"https:\/\/news.ballotpedia.org\/2026\/03\/03\/the-ballot-bulletin-indiana-becomes-the-19th-state-to-ban-ranked-choice-voting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">approved<\/a> legislation barring RCV in Indiana. <\/p>\n<p>Much like its Ohio counterpart, Indiana&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/iga.in.gov\/legislative\/2026\/bills\/senate\/12\/details\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SB 12<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/iga.in.gov\/pdf-documents\/124\/2026\/senate\/bills\/SB0012\/SB0012.04.ENRH.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stipulates<\/a> that elections &ldquo;may not be determined by ranked choice voting&rdquo; and that candidates &ldquo;may not be nominated for or elected to an office by means of ranked choice voting.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>The measure <a href=\"https:\/\/iga.in.gov\/legislative\/2026\/bills\/senate\/12\/actions\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> the Indiana House (58-30) last month after clearing the state Senate (38-9) in January. <\/p>\n<p>There are now 19 states that have adopted laws prohibiting the use of ranked-choice voting in their elections, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Ranked-choice_voting_(RCV)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ballotpedia<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p><em>For more election news and updates, visit&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/electionbriefing.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">electionbriefing.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/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 is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. 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\/ballot-exhaustion\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">ballot exhaustion<\/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\/indiana\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Indiana<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mike-braun\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mike Braun<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mike-dewine\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Mike DeWine<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/ohio\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Ohio<\/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\/sen-theresa-gavarone\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sen. Theresa Gavarone<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/sen-william-demora\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Sen. William DeMora<\/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<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ohio and Indiana ban ranked-choice voting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2581827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5926417.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[6492,7006,4333,75657],"class_list":["post-2581826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-banning","tag-indiana","tag-ohio","tag-ranked-choice-voting-3"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5926417.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581826","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=2581826"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581826\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2581830,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2581826\/revisions\/2581830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2581827"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2581826"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2581826"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2581826"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}