Improved Democracy | Rank MI Vote Skip to main content

Improved Democracy

The current system is fragile and vulnerable to manipulation and broken, inaccurate outcomes as soon as more than two candidates run. This is because of “vote splitting” and the “spoiler effect”. Two or more candidates or parties running on similar platforms penalize each other and divide their shared base of supporters, rather than reinforcing their mutual efforts. Finally, our current voting system limits participation by discouraging new candidates from running and new parties from forming.

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With Ranked Choice Voting...

  • Every vote counts and you can always vote for your favorite knowing your vote will never be wasted.

  • Fresh candidates can run without fear of being treated like a “spoiler”.

  • New parties can form and share their ideas without fear of splitting votes from a similar major party.

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Better Representation

More candidates can run for office without fear of vote-splitting. In our current system, many candidates are pressured to drop out, shamed as “spoilers,” and excluded from public debates. A study of four Bay Area cities with Ranked Choice Voting found women and people of color are running and winning office more often than they are in cities without RCV. Particularly in multi-winner contests, RCV truly represents all perspectives, each in proportion to its voter support.

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Stronger Democracy

Eliminate the “spoiler effect” to elect a candidate who appeals to a broad base of voters. In our current system, candidates can win election despite being the last choice of most voters. Ranked Choice Voting guarantees the election of majority winners, whose support extends beyond a narrow base. RCV significantly reduces hyper-polarization elements that are destroying effective democracy.

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More Choices

Voters can choose their favorite without settling for the “lesser of two evils.” In our current system, if your favorite candidate is unlikely to win, you might to cast a “safe” vote for a front-runner to avoid electing the one you like least, or stick to your principles and vote for your favorite candidate. Voters shouldn’t be forced to take sides in this lose-lose dilemma. RCV enables all voters to vote for candidates they support, not just against the ones they oppose.

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Focus on Issues

RCV rewards candidates who reach beyond their base to find common ground with more voters. Candidates are motivated to run positive, issue-focused campaigns and to reach out to all voters, as they do best when they reach out positively to as many voters as possible, including those supporting their opponents.

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Promoting Coalitions

By allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference, Ranked Choice Voting helps consolidate rather than divide competing party factions. The incentive to positively campaign means fewer rifts between candidates after a hotly contested primary, and the built-in push toward majority of support will give nominees the mandate they need to rally together.

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Up, Up, Up

Recent Ranked Choice Voting Elections have shown that with the superior option of RCV voter turnout and satisfaction goes up. Candidate diversity goes up. Number of candidates goes up. See our FAQ page for details!

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