| Bruce Thompson | Urban Milwaukee |
For the first time, the Wisconsin Legislature held a public hearing on Senate Bill 528 and the matching Assembly Bill 563. Both bills are aimed at applying ranked choice voting to Wisconsin’s federal elections, those for U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. As presently written, the law would not apply to state offices.
Less divisive politics
John Pudner, the Take Back Action Fund President, breaking with conservative orthodoxy by supporting SB 528, points out that the right has its own possible third-party problem. Pudner points to the Wisconsin vote in the 2020 presidential election.
Despite the opposition to ranked choice voting on the right, there is no indication that it favors Democratic candidates over Republican ones. What its advocates do hope for is a less divisive politics, partly by getting rid of the very partisan primaries and partly encouraging candidates who are able to reach out to voters who are not part of their base.
