King County to consider Ranked Choice Voting

King County resident Joe Szwaja writes about the advantages of Ranked Choice Voting for King County in the Seattle Times.

"Mix together eight candidates, a low-turnout summer primary, and rules that send the top two candidates to the general, no matter what. Result? A million-dollar-plus bill for holding two elections to achieve what we could accomplish with one.

Voters had to awkwardly balance the desire to vote for their favorite candidate with a guess as to whether he or she could advance to the general or whether the vote would be split among similar candidates and actually help the wrong side.

And the system amplifies big-donor influence, since two elections also increase the time candidates must spend raising money for two elections.

This is our election recipe here in King County and in the city of Seattle as well.

Fortunately, there's a cheap, inclusive and democratic alternative used internationally and now in Pierce County. It's ranked choice voting (RCV), also known as instant runoff voting."