Ranked choice voting advocates have learned that implementing RCV/IRV often has to be dealt with at the local, as well as the state, level. As a legislative state, Illinois has to get approval from the state legislature before RCV can even be tried at the local level. Ranked choice voting in Georgia is no different.
This article highlights some of the real benefits in using RCV, including coalition building and cooperation like-minded among candidates:
Meanwhile, a state task force commissioned by Gov. JB Pritzker to explore ranked choice voting is lagging months behind in mapping out a potential transition to how ranked choice voting would work in the next presidential primary.
Evanston has been eager to initiate ranked choice voting, but the Cook County clerk’s office says the state must first pass a law enabling it. Because of Cook County’s hesitation, it’s possible Naperville, which straddles DuPage and Will counties, could be the first in Illinois to start ranked choice voting elections, though no one yet knows when.
Though it’s untried in Illinois, ranked choice voting exists elsewhere in the country and it works by voters ranking candidates in the order they prefer. If one candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round of counting, that person is the winner.
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Boosters say ranked choice voting increases the electorate’s choices, tamps down on negative campaigning, promotes coalition building among like-minded candidates and potentially saves money by eliminating the need for runoff elections. It also cuts down on so-called wasted votes when voters cast ballots for candidates who later drop out, a reason why ranked choice is in place for certain military and overseas voters.
See also FairVote, Illinois.
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