In Georgia, almost every election requires a candidate to win a majority of the vote, no matter how many people are on the ballot, and that frequently means runoffs. The recent special election for Senate District 21 is just the latest example. With seven candidates splitting the vote, no one reached a majority; now the state faces another month of campaigning — and cost — before the voters get the final result.

There is a better way. Ranked Choice Voting — also called instant runoff voting — lets voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no one wins a majority outright, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes transfer to voters’ next choices. The process repeats until someone passes 50%. Instead of dragging the election into another month, voters make their runoff choices on the same ballot, in the same election.

In District 21, Democrat Debra Shigley finished well ahead of everyone else, but because no one cleared 50%, she now faces Republican Jason Dickerson in a September runoff. Out of more than 21,000 ballots cast, just 65 votes separated Dickerson from fellow Republican Steve West — a razor-thin margin deciding which candidate advanced. And when voters are asked to return for the runoff, turnout is sure to plummet, meaning the eventual “majority” will represent far fewer people than the first round did. With RCV, we’d be there already.

The lone Democrat in a seven-way race easily advanced to a runoff in a special election that will decide who will replace former Alpharetta Republican state Sen. Brandon Beach, and the top GOP candidates battled it out for second place. 

Democrat Debra Shigley had a strong showing Tuesday night, racking up about 40% of the vote. Republicans Jason Dickerson and Steve West were neck and neck for second place Tuesday night, earning 17.4% and 17.1% of the vote, respectively. Dickerson held a narrow 65-vote edge over West and appeared to be poised for the runoff against Shigley.

Over 20,000 voters cast their ballots in the special election, amounting to a 14% turnout rate.

Better Ballot Georgia is a nonpartisan organization that does not support or oppose any candidate or party, but we do support fairer elections.