By now, many Americans are used to the idea that they can vote for one candidate for a seat and when all is said and done, the candidate with the most votes the first time around wins. There is another way. Some municipalities and states in the U.S. have been experimenting with a system proponents say makes more sense: ranked-choice voting.
It’s a style of voting used for some elections in states like Maine and California that allows voters to rank multiple candidates on a ballot, instead of voting for just one person. (In some places, it’s called instant-runoff voting.)
Fans of the system say it forces candidates to build diverse coalitions. Others worry about unfair outcomes.
It’s looking like the ranked-choice system might become a much larger fixture in American politics. Many cities and states are exploring whether they too might get on board. Our listener driven series gets the view from the ground and finds out how well this system is working for communities who have grown used to ranked choice voting.
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