The Benefits of Ranked Choice Voting by Jon Ralston of Voter Choice Arizona. He spoke at the December 19, 2022, meeting of Democrats of Greater Tucson.

2. Are you satisfied with our current system?
• When you vote in an AZ election, do you have choices that represent your views?
• Do you want more candidate choices in AZ elections?
• Is negative partisanship too commonplace in AZ elections?
• Are election campaign seasons too long?
• Do you feel that candidates running for office campaign on issues that don’t matter to
you?
• Are we electing candidates who are prepared to lead us into the future?

3. The “Spoiler” Effect
THE PROBLEM

4. TheClassic “Spoiler”
GEORGE BUSH AL GORE RALPH NADER
48.85%
2,912,790 2,912,253
48.84%​ 1.64%​
97,488​
537 vote difference

5. U.S. PresidentialElection1992
Bill Clinton
George HW Bush
Ross Perot

6. Spoiler
Effect
Reduces
Choice
Dropped out in last week!

7. Wasted Votes For Withdrawn Candidates
22.1%
Arizona2020 DemocraticPresidential Primary
Joe Biden
Bernie Sanders
Tulsi Gabbard
Withdrawn
Candidates

8. Exploiting Spoilers– “Sham” Candidates
... people were recruited onto the Green Party ballot by a
Republican political operative who freely admits that their
candidacies may siphon some support from the
Democrats.

9. 29.5%
29.5%
20.7%
20.3%
Andy Biggs
Christine Jones
Don Stapley
Justin Olson
16 vote
difference!
With "Pick One" Voting,
More Candidates = Less Popular Winners

10. Mayor of Phoenix- 2018
❑ Fewer than
half as many
votes in the
runoff
❑ Cost to city
Taxpayers:
>$1 million

11. Instead of picking just one candidate,
Ranked Choice Voting lets you rank
multiple candidates in the order you
prefer them.
Ranked Choice Voting
THE SOLUTION

13. To win under Ranked Choice Voting,
a candidate must get a majority of
the votes (>50%), either in the
first round, or in the “instant runoff.”

14. Counting RCV Votes
Count only the 1st choice votes.
No Majority in First Round
Round 1
20% 5%
40% 35%

15. Round 1
Counting RCV Votes
Round 2
Voters for the last-place
candidate: their votes instantly
count toward their 2nd choice.
X
20% 5%
40% 35%
21%
44% 35%
+4% +1%

16. Round 1
Counting RCV Votes
Round 2
Voters for the last-place
candidate: their votes instantly
count toward their 2nd choice.
X
20% 5%
40% 35%
21%
44% 35%
Round 3
45% 55%
X
+1% +20%
+1%

17. Round 1
Counting RCV Votes
Round 2
Voters for the last-place
candidate: their votes instantly
count toward their 2nd choice.
X
20% 5%
40% 35%
20%
44% 36%
Round 3
45% 55%
X
+1%
Majority in Third Round!

18. The
Benefits
of
RCV
❑ Can increase voter turnout
❑ Voters get more choices
❑ Campaigns become more
positive
❑ The winning candidate is
guaranteed to have majority
support
❑ No more “lesser of two evils”

19. RCV is
used/
enacted in
29 states
used by
millions of
voters
See Full List

20. ArizonansWant RCV
Source: Center for the Future of Arizona

21. Who are we?
• Voter choice Arizona (VCAZ) is a non-profit 501c(3)
formed in 2020 to bring ranked choice voting to
Arizona.
• Mission: Improve our elections so that voters have more
choice and more voice, for better governance and a
better Arizona.
• Goal: To enact electoral reform in the state of Arizona,
specifically Ranked Choice Voting to create a more
representative government.
• 2022 Focus:
• Enact Ranked Choice Voting in AZ cities and towns
• Educate Arizonans on the benefits of Ranked Choice Voting

22. Whereare we going?
The Goal
The Journey
2024
statewide
citizens
initiative
to adopt
RCV
Education
Outreach
Local Adoption/Support

23. THANK YOU! – How you can help?
https://www.voterchoicearizona.org/
Info@voterchoicearizona.org
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