| Laura Murphy & Maurice West | Chicago Tribune |
No matter your political party, we can all agree that elections should be free and fair. But under our current system, not everyone’s vote counts. Not because of fraud or other election-related conspiracies, but because many people wind up voting for someone who isn’t viable.
Let us explain. With more and more people getting access to the ballot via early and absentee voting, some voters cast ballots for candidates who end up dropping out of the race before Election Day. Others vote for a candidate who receives so few votes that they will never win. Colloquially, this is known as a “wasted vote.” A whopping 70,000 Democrats wasted their votes in Illinois’ 2020 presidential primary; the same thing happened to 30,000 Republicans in our state’s 2016 presidential primary.
”Reflect the true views of voters
Ranked choice voting, or RCV, solves these problems, which is why we are working to pass legislation in Springfield to allow for RCV in presidential primaries.
As we approach the 2024 presidential primary, we need to do everything we can to make sure that Illinois voters’ voices are heard and that candidates who rely on toxic, divisive rhetoric don’t win their party’s nomination. Our country can’t afford to continue down the road of extreme political polarization, especially because most Americans don’t identify with those politics.
Ranked choice voting is the future of elections in America. That’s why we’re fighting to bring RCV to Illinois — because it’s a better system for electing candidates who reflect the true views of American voters.
State Sen. Laura Murphy represents the 28th District, which includes Des Plaines. State Rep. Maurice West represents the 67th District, which includes parts of Rockford.
