Ranked-Choice Voting Presentation

Voter Choice Massachusetts  field organizer Laura Brisbane will discuss Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV), and what it means for Massachusetts.

What is RCV? Also known as “instant runoff voting,” RCV is an electoral system in which voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference on their ballots. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, she or he is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. Ballots which ranked that candidate highest are then redistributed to the voter’s second choice. That process is repeated until one candidate has a majority.

A handful of communities in the United States use this electoral method, Cambridge, Mass. among them. The state of Maine has adopted ranked-choice voting, although the law’s constitutionality and eventual implementation remain open questions subject to legislative or judicial intervention. The system is more widely used in other countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, the United Kingdom, India and New Zealand.

Learn about this electoral initiative by attending on May 31!