• Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) gains popularity in the U.S., allowing voters to rank candidates and requiring a majority for a win.
• Alaska case: Phillip Izon and Art Mathias face campaign finance allegations in an anti-RCV drive, involving a $90,000 church subsidiary contribution.
• RCV’s expansion: Adopted in cities across Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Michigan, with successful use in 11 cities in 2023.
• Ballotpedia explains RCV mechanics; MSMagazine highlights its role in increasing women’s representation in elections.
• Overall trend: RCV reshapes electoral processes, offering more inclusive and representative systems across the U.S.

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is a voting system where voters rank candidates in order of preference. It’s gaining popularity across the United States, as noted by FairVote and New Jersey Monitor. In RCV, if a candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, they are declared the winner. If not, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates based on second preferences. This process continues until a candidate achieves a majority. This method has been adopted in various regions, including conservative Utah and liberal New York City, and was used in 51 jurisdictions, impacting 13 million American voters (New Jersey Monitor).

In Alaska, a specific case involving RCV has brought attention to the challenges of campaign finance compliance. Phillip Izon and Art Mathias, leading a campaign to repeal Alaska’s RCV system, faced allegations of campaign finance violations. This case, covered by Alaska Public Media, revolved around a $90,000 contribution made through a church subsidiary, highlighting the complexities of political finance in the context of RCV debates.

Nationally, the adoption of RCV is expanding, as cities across Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, and Michigan have implemented or voted to adopt it. For instance, three cities in Michigan — Kalamazoo, East Lansing, and Royal Oak — voted to adopt RCV, with significant voter support in each city (FairVote). In 2023 alone, 11 cities used RCV successfully, contributing to the election of diverse, broadly supported leaders (FairVote). Additionally, Minnetonka, MN, and Easthampton, MA, decided to keep or expand their use of RCV, indicating a trend of growing interest in this voting system (FairVote).

Ballotpedia provides a clear definition of RCV and its mechanics, while MSMagazine highlights the potential for RCV to bring about historic wins in elections, especially in the context of proportional RCV (PRCV), a variation where multiple winners are chosen to represent a single district. This form of RCV was on the ballot and passed in several Michigan cities during recent elections, despite efforts to repeal PRCV in some areas (MSMagazine).

Overall, these developments reflect a dynamic landscape in electoral processes, where traditional voting methods are being reconsidered in favor of more inclusive and representative systems like RCV (New Jersey Monitor, FairVote, Ballotpedia, MSMagazine, Alaska Public Media).