A 3rd party candidate could reelect Trump. Ranked choice voting reflects the majority | Opinion
The headline on recent commentary from former Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler asked about the coming presidential election: “Could a third party be the answer we need in 2024?” Without ranked choice voting, the answer is, regrettably, no.
As long as we use our current ballot, it’s virtually impossible for any third-party presidential candidate to do anything but act as a spoiler. Asking voters to support a third-party candidate is effectively the same as asking them to elect the candidate they oppose the most.
Third parties are a no go because we use a ballot with two unfixable defects. The U.S. uses what’s known as a first-past-the-post ballot, which allows voters to vote for only one candidate per office. That means it’s impossible to guarantee a majority (50% plus one or better) winner in an election with multiple candidates. Therefore, the phenomenon of our two dominant political parties is not a result of the parties themselves, but rather the ballot we use.
The second unfixable defect with multiple candidates is the spectacle of the so-called “spoiler effect.” Imagine you go to vote on Election Day and on the ballot there is one candidate you are totally opposed to, one you normally favor but aren’t satisfied with, and one you would like to vote for, but are afraid to — afraid because you know from bitter experience that doing so could enable the victory of the candidate you’re most opposed to with only a plurality of the vote. Gansler tries to argue that while this has happened in the past, it wouldn’t happen in 2024. Unfortunately, this is wishful thinking.
Ranked choice voting, also known as instant runoff, solves both problems by simply allowing voters to make backup choices. In a ranked voting election, you designate your favorite candidate as your first choice, your next favorite as your second choice and so on. If no candidate gets a majority of voters’ first choices, the last place candidate is eliminated. The ballots of voters who ranked that losing candidate No. 1 then go for their next choice. This repeats until a single candidate has a majority of the votes and is declared the winner.
Ranked choice empowers you as a voter to express your true preferences without fear. If the third-party candidate you ranked first is defeated, but no candidate has a majority, then your vote goes to your second choice. No more vote-splitting and no more spoilers.
In his classic book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,” author Stephen R. Covey’s second is, “Begin with the end in mind.” Ask yourself: What result of the 2024 presidential election do you most want to avoid? If that result is the reelection of Donald Trump, then you must vote for the reelection of President Joe Biden. Voting for a third-party candidate takes votes away from Biden and makes it more likely for Trump to win.
If you don’t want your choices to be limited like this in future elections, then take action this year to put people in office who will work to adopt ranked voting for future elections. Accurate information about ranked choice is available at FairVote.org and information specific to Kansas City is at BetterBallotKC.org
Ask this question of candidates running for federal and state offices in 2024: “If elected, will you vote for ranked choice voting in our elections?” If they answer no, then they just told you they are not in favor of majority winners. They think it’s OK for the minority to rule over the majority and to limit voters’ choices.
In deciding to act, remember this truth. If you keep on doing things the way you’ve always done them, then you’ll keep on getting what you’ve always gotten. If you don’t like the choices or results the system is giving you now, then put the people in place who will implement a future system that will give you better.