It’s really happening. This November, ranked choice voting is on the ballot for adoption in four new states: Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, and Oregon. Combined with Maine and Alaska, ranked choice voting could benefit 17 million Americans by the next presidential election.
This is a tremendous opportunity to shore up our democracy and create an environment where elected leaders are incentivized to get results.
But, the primary critique of ranked choice voting remains – it’s too complicated.
Thankfully, the results speak for themselves. When voters used ranked choice voting in New York City, Alaska, Minneapolis, and elsewhere, they found it easy to understand. Once they tried it, they liked it.
To get ranked choice voting passed in as many of those four states as possible, we need to get more people to try it out for themselves. It’s the strongest rebuttal to the critiques.
That’s why I created RankedVote – an online platform that allows people to easily make ranked choice contests and elections. Over 1.5 million people have cast ranked choice ballots on it to date.
Whether they’re voting on new t-shirt designs or what to name a snow plow, RankedVote gives people the real ranked choice experience. The ballot is true to the grid design used across the country. The results are visualized, animated, and explained in plain language.
The idea is to get more people to try it and like it – deflating the bad-faith arguments against it. If grandmas in Colorado can use RankedVote from their phones to decide what book their book club should read next, how complicated can it be?
So, as you engage with voters at house parties, fair booths, or even at work, keep RankedVote in mind as a tool in your toolkit for driving home the benefits or ranked choice voting.
And to get you going, here are some compelling uses of RankedVote I’ve seen across the 65,000+ contests and elections that have been created…
Use Ranked Choice Voting at Work
At its core, ranked choice voting is a decision-making tool. And work is all about making decisions. Don’t hesitate to use it for determining team priorities, deciding company offsite locations, or even awarding prizes in companywide competitions. That’s exactly what Lob, a direct mail startup, did with its employee hackathons.
Drop it into the Group Chat
It’s getting harder and harder for messages to break through. But, we still listen to those in our close circle. Next time you’re making a decision with your friends or family, make it ranked choice. Reunion locations, movies to watch, and dinner restaurants all work nicely.
Run a Contest
If you’ve got an audience, online or in-person, give them something to vote for. Minnesotans voted on their favorite food at their state fair. Thousands of ranked ballots were cast. Who knew fried foods could be a catalyst for ranked choice voting education?
Think of something that your audience cares about and put together a contest where their vote can have an impact. Alaska had school age kids design their “I Voted” stickers. A video game company had their fan base determine the character that would be in the next version of the game. New York City selected a pizza topping for its mayor.
Give it stakes. Make it fun. It’s the best way to bring ranked choice voting to hundreds if not thousands of people.
About the Author Tad Milbourn is the founder of RankedVote. Since its founding, RankedVote has helped over 1.5 million people experience the benefits of ranked choice voting. He’s also a member of the Rank The Vote Advisory Board.