| Sandy Hausman | WVTF |
When there are more than two candidates to choose from, our current system allows you to pick just one, but another system in use around the world lets citizens rank their preferences.
“Ranked choice voting is the fastest growing democracy reform in the country,” says Liz White, director of a non-profit called UpVoteVirginia.
”Lawmakers could expand ranked-choice voting
That means politicians will be campaigning beyond their base – trying to appeal to a broader cross section of voters.
“They have to talk to people who don’t live near them, who don’t look like them, who don’t traditionally agree with them on everything,” White explains. Smith will demonstrate at a serious of talks around the state, allowing participants to rank their favorite cookies. White claims ranked-choice voting has bi-partisan support in Virginia. The first community to use it was the blue city of Arlington, but it’s also embraced by Republicans. The current governor, the lieutenant governor and the attorney general were all nominated using ranked-choice voting.
And it was used to nominate four Republican candidates for Congress. Virginia allows its use in cities and counties, but lawmakers could expand ranked-choice voting to state and national elections when the General Assembly meets next year.
