Hoover InstitutionStanford University
Ranked-Choice Voting: Capturing Voter Preferences

Published November 3, 2022

Adopting ranked-choice voting allows voter preferences to be more accurately reflected in elections. Currently, votes on mail-in ballots cast for candidates who drop out before election day are not counted. Ranked-choice voting resolves this issue and is popular in states where it is implemented.

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are some potential downsides to ranked-choice voting?
  2. Would ranked-choice voting change how politicians campaign? If so, how?

Additional Resources:

  • Read “Here’s a Voting System That Would Have Counted All of California’s Super Tuesday Votes,” by L. Sandy Maisel and David W. Brady via CalMatters. Available here.
  • Watch “By Constitutional Design: The Electoral College,” on PolicyEd. Available here.
  • Listen to “Saints, Sinners, and Salvageables: ‘The Big Truth’ vs. ‘The ‘Big Lie,’” with Benjamin Ginsberg, David Becker, and Major Garrett. Available here.

Cast

David Brady

David Brady

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