Opinion: Think your ballot was cumbersome this year? Just wait for ranked-choice voting

It may be unpopular to admit, but I subject candidates for public office to a litmus test. Among other things, they can’t have tried to steal an election. Sounds crazy but it’s been known to happen. Most voters have non-negotiables — party affiliation, candidate’s character (or lack thereof), or policy alignment — that they consider when choosing a nominee. If you’re like me, there are candidates you cannot support under any circumstances.

Unfortunately, if Proposition 131 to establish ranked-choice voting passes in November there is a chance your ballot won’t count if you refuse to rank candidates who don’t pass your test. It will be tossed out.

Proposition 131 would replace our current voting process in most races. Here’s how it would work: Anyone, regardless of party affiliation, could run in the primary with the top four contenders advancing to the general election. In the general elections, voters would be asked to rank candidates in order of preference.

It’s a confusing system, so I’ll put names to an example. Let’s say that out of a gubernatorial primary, State Senator Shannon Bird, a moderate Democrat, State Representative Elisabeth Epps, a Democratic Socialist, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Heidi Ganahl, and Libertarian Aron Lam, mayor of Keenseburg, emerge from the open primary. On your ballot, you rank Lam, Bird, Ganahl, and Epps in that order. In round one, nobody gets 50% of the statewide vote, so the candidate with the least votes is eliminated. In this example, Lam is out and your vote for Lam now goes to your second choice, Bird. A new tally is made. In this round, Bird is eliminated and your vote goes to Ganahl. The process continues until one candidate remains.

What happens when only one or two candidates meet with your approval? In this example, if you selected only Lam and Bird, your ballot would be deemed “exhausted” after round two and tossed out.

To add to the confusion, races for U.S. president, district attorneys, and county and city offices will be determined by the traditional voting method. Ballots will contain both processes. Think your ballot is long and cumbersome now?  Hold this beer, it’s about to get worse. Under ranked-choice voting, elections will longer, less fair, and less representative.

Under ranked-choice voting, the candidate with the most votes in round one often loses. Denver City Councilman Kevin Flynn analyzed 51 ranked-choice election results and found only eight candidates in those elections crossed the finish line with initial majority support. In the worst of these cases, an election for San Francisco Board of Supervisors concluded after 60% of the ballots were exhausted and tossed out. After all the reshuffling, she was declared the winner with 52% of the remaining votes. In actuality, she was the first choice of only 21% of voters.

In Alaska in 2022, Mary Peltola, a Democrat, won the at-large congressional seat after Alaska switched to ranked-choice voting. In the open primary, Republicans Sarah Palin (27% of the vote) and Nick Begich III (19.1%), Independent candidate Al Gross (12.6%), and Peltola (10.1%) emerged the top four vote getters. Gross then dropped out. In round one of the general election, Begich lost and voters who selected him alone had their ballots tossed out. Those who chose Peltola or Palin as a second choice saw their votes redistributed.  Peltola, the candidate with only 10% support in the primary won.

This could happen here. Take the above example with Bird, Epps, Ganahl, and Lam. Let’s say Lam drops out before Election Day. In round one, Bird and Ganahl have the most votes and Epps is eliminated. Some of Epps’ voters picked Bird as a second choice but most did not make a second choice and a few chose Ganahl. When the final tally is counted, Ganahl edges out Bird by a handful of votes.

As a Republican, I would be happy with the result but my better angels would question whether it was a fair outcome given that Democrats and left-leaning Independents hold a majority in this state. Rather than winning them over through persuasion to vote Republican, we would have denied them representation through a ranked-choice voting scheme.

It’s no wonder ranked choice voting is up for repeal in Alaska this November. Let’s not start. Vote no on Initiative 131.

Krista L. Kafer is a weekly Denver Post columnist. Follow her on Twitter: @kristakafer.

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