ACROSS THE COUNTRY a number of places are using or are considering adopting ranked choice voting for state, local, or federal elections. If you’re unfamiliar with ranked choice voting (RCV), that’s too bad, because other than the most recent here’s-how-to-make-the-perfect-garlic-bread TikTok video, this is just about the biggest news there is right now. But let me take a moment to explain.
Ranked choice voting is a process in which voters rank their candidates in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the voters who chose that last place candidate as their first choice have their vote shifted to their second choice, and so on, until there is a winner. If you’re with me so far and like the idea, feel free to stop reading and go sign a petition for RCV. If you’re still confused, let me offer an example.
Earlier this year, the children’s ministry team at my church needed to decide which book our K-5 kids should read for the upcoming quarter. Each of the 21 teachers submitted the name of a book we felt would be appropriate. We then ranked the submitted books in order of preference. Of the 21 books, my top three picks were The Mueller Report by Robert S. Mueller III, Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, and The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
The Mueller Report was one of the lowest ranked books and was quickly eliminated. I thought it could teach the kids some valuable lessons about the corrupting influences of power and greed. But sadly no one else agreed that it would be a good idea to subject 5-year-olds to a rehashing of the last four years. As a result, my vote moved to Gilead. I actually think this book could have won, but it came up slightly short after one of my colleagues admitted that they had gotten Gilead mixed up with The Iliad.
“Did you even read the voters pamphlet that clearly stated that Gilead was not an epic poem with warring gods in ancient Greece?” I demanded.
With the removal of my first and second choices, my vote shifted to The Cost of Discipleship, which garnered enough votes to make it over the 50 percent threshold and into the hands of our youth. There were some concerns about the sheer length of this book but since other submissions included Anna Karenina, Les Misérables, and the Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology, I thought these concerns were misplaced. So even though my first choice didn’t win, my third did, and my vote wasn’t wasted.
Proponents of ranked choice voting argue that the process allows people to vote their conscience without having to worry about wasting their vote on a candidate who might be less electable or splitting the votes if there are two factions of candidates. This situation played out at a neighboring church where the children’s ministry team had to pick a book for their kids: Halfway through the contentious race, The Polar Express and Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type were eliminated, with their support going to If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, enabling it to overtake George Orwell’s 1984 and leave it in the dust.
I’ll admit that making the transition to RCV won’t be easy, and it will take some stellar messaging and public education. But if my second graders can easily tell me that their preferences for our Friday night movie are
It’s a Wonderful Life, Do the Right Thing, Saving Private Ryan, and then Toy Story 4, I think we adults can give this a go.
Got something to say about what you're reading? We value your feedback!
