Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and Congressman Don Beyer (VA-08) renewed their efforts to bring ranked choice voting to U.S. congressional elections, reintroducing their *Ranked Choice Voting Act *. Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) is introducing companion legislation in the Senate.
The legislation would require ranked choice voting (RCV) in all congressional primary and general elections starting in 2028, allowing voters to express support for multiple candidates for public office, with the candidate receiving the most votes declared the winner.
There is evidence that poor voters submit invalid RCV ballots at a higher rate than middle class and rich voters, something that isn’t true under FPTP. It’s impossible to submit an invalid ballot under Approval Voting, so that’s another mark in its favor.
This is not a condemnation of the voting system, but the obtuse way the ballot forms are presented. I wonder who hamstrings the committees that design the forms….
I’d have to look at the specific ballots in question. The study I’m thinking of was concerning the NYC mayor election, so it was likely designed by Democrats, but I don’t remember seeing a picture of the actual ballot in the study.