Sunday, November 16, 2008

Benefits of Ranked Choice Voting

By Don Vandervelde, Gig Harbor

Democracy is important enough for us to deserve to have the trouble taken to employ the best, and most thorough, of available methods. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is that method. Let's review the bidding.

1) It (RCV) preserves the vital right of political parties to offer the candidates of their own choice; unlike the "top-two" alternative.

2) It allows voters a broader selection of all parties' candidates.

3) It takes power from the big parties, and gives more power to each voter to help the candidates the voter likes, regardless of party.

4) It eliminates the "wasted vote" problem, by allowing a voter to express his preference for a minor party's candidate, while preserving that vote for his favorite major party.

5) And certainly not least, it eliminates the need for preliminaries and run-off elections, making a shorter campaign season, saving time, money, yard signs, and aggravation for all of us.

As we all get more used to its advantages and the process, we'll come to depend on its virtues and elections will run smoothly. Folks who don't, won't, or can't understand the process, can always just vote once for their first choice candidate as they always have, and it will still be counted. as it always has been.

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2 Comments:

At 6:07 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Points #1 and #3 are in conflict with one another. You cannot preserve party rights while lessening their powers. That was truly not a smart comment.

The Top-Two Primary is designed to lessen the two political parties stranglehold on the process here in Washington State, it is just another tool in doing so, ju as IRV is also a tool in lessening the power of political parties.

 
At 8:52 AM, Blogger Kelly Haughton said...

Actually, RCV in Pierce County gives the parties the right to determine who can use their label on the ballot, so that party affliation is stronger with RCV than the Top 2.

In addition, since RCV eliminates the spoiler effect, independent and third party candidates are more viable in RCV than the Top 2.

 

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