| Blair Bobier | Rogue Valley Times |
It’s hard to imagine a scenario where ranked choice voting — or, more to the point, the lack of ranked choice voting — won’t have an impact on this year’s race for governor.
”Broad support among voters
Ranked choice voting eliminates concerns about “spoiler” candidates and ensures that the winner has broad support among voters. Right now, we’re teeing up a close gubernatorial election with at least one minor party candidate in the mix — with the potential for more to join the fray. Any time you have an election with more than two candidates in our current winner-take-all, first-past-the post system, you run the risk of the winning candidate being elected with far less than a majority of the vote.
Although ranked choice voting is used in Corvallis, Portland, Benton County, and Multnomah County, it has yet to be used at the statewide level where winner-take-all reigns supreme.