By MONICA & BOB FOLEY | August 2, 2020
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With ranked-choice voting, there is no more concern that you are “wasting” a vote, and no more candidates seen as “spoilers.” You are free to support the candidate you truly like most, without worrying that you might help the candidate you like least.
To the editor:
MetroWest Daily News has covered both of the November ballot initiatives, which address ranked choice voting to improve voting rights, and also the “right to repair.” You also have covered Maine’s adoption of ranked-choice voting to create a more fair and open election process. It’s time we in Massachusetts did the same – it’s time for us to vote YES on Ballot Question 2 in November.
Our political process can use plenty of improvements. The commonwealth and the cities and towns have made some positive recent changes to the mechanics of voting, such as voting by mail, and early voting. But, we need to focus on who is on the ballot!
In our current environment, political elites and their financial supporters control who gets a party’s nomination. Those nominees have to adopt the positions of a small number of political elites in order to get any party support. By the time most of us vote, we have only two choices left, and they are just mirrors of the narrow portion of our society that controls politics. New candidates with fresh ideas simply cannot make it on to the ballot.
Ranked-choice voting is simple, fair, and easy. Anyone who can get on the ballot has a fair chance to explain themselves and bring new thinking to the office. With ranked-choice voting, you can choose to simply cast your ballot for just one candidate if you want. But, you can also support your favorite candidate, and indicate second and third candidates who you would be willing to support if it is impossible for your favorite candidate to receive majority support. When it’s time to count the ballots, all first choices are counted. If a candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, that candidate wins. If not, an instant runoff process is used and the election is decided as soon as one candidate receives a majority of the votes and is declared the winner.
With ranked-choice voting, there is no more concern that you are “wasting” a vote, and no more candidates seen as “spoilers.” You are free to support the candidate you truly like most, without worrying that you might help the candidate you like least.
Let’s open the political process beyond the current two parties, and let’s vote YES on 2 for ranked-choice voting in November!
