Ocean State Ranked Choice Voting launches during an election that sorely needs it
With 12 candidates in the Democratic primary for Congressional District One, it's possible the winner will have less than a third of the vote... Ranked-choice voting addresses this...
August 28, 2023 - Press release from Ocean State Ranked Choice Voting
Carlson withdrawal highlights the need for ranked-choice voting
Ocean State Ranked Choice Voting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advocating for stronger representation and voter choice in Rhode Island, released the following statement in light of Donald Carlson's withdrawal from the Congressional District 1 special election:
"Mr. Carlson's departure from the race after the start of the early voting period highlights the need for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in Rhode Island. As of Mr. Carlson's announcement of his withdrawal, 4,928 voters had already cast their ballots. Anyone who voted for him will be furious to learn that their vote is going to waste. To prevent a repeat of this situation in the future, we must implement CV, in order to ensure that supporters of withdrawn candidates still have a fair say by having their second choices count. No voter should be punished because their favorite candidate dropped out.
"The CD-I race, while certainly the most salient example of this problem right now, is far from the only one. In 2020, over three million votes were wasted across the country on candidates who withdrew from the Democratic presidential primary between the time when voters cast their ballots and their states' primary days, representing over 8% of the total votes cast. Nearly 6% of the votes were wasted in a similar fashion in the 2016 Republican presidential nominating contest.
"The solution is not, as some have suggested, to reduce or eliminate access to early voting or voting by mail. Both methods of voting are subject to the same rigorous verification processes as voting on Election Day. They expand access to the ballot, increase voter turnout, and strengthen our democracy without compromising the security of our elections."
Ocean State Ranked Choice Voting, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization advocating for “stronger representation and voter choice in Rhode Island,” held its official launch on Monday at the Warwick Public Library on West Shore Road. The launch featured five of the 14 CD-1 special election candidates, including Gabe Amo, Stephanie Beauté, Sandra Cano, John Goncalves, and Ana Quesada, sharing their support for ranked-choice voting (RCV).
For an explanation of ranked-choice voting, see here, here, or the video below:
Comments from the Candidates:
Ocean State RCV contacted all 14 candidates who will appear on the CD-1 primary ballots (12 Democrats and two Republicans) to inquire about their positions on ranked-choice voting. Each of the six who expressed support was invited to attend. The transcription has been edited for clarity. The names link directly to a video of their comments.
Providence City Councilmember John Goncalves:
This is such a great initiative and I'm so glad that we're kicking it off here in Rhode Island. It's almost long overdue. I grew up in Providence, but I had an opportunity after [graduating from] Brown University to go to Minnesota where I served as an educator but also was involved in electoral politics. They do ranked-choice voting in the city where I lived, Minneapolis, and it works magically. So if there are any doubters on rank choice voting, it works. It really works.
The problem is, it's not spreading as far and wide as it should. Right now there are 50 American jurisdictions that have ranked-choice voting, which allows over 13 million people across this country to participate in that kind of process.
[One] reason why I think it works particularly well is because, as a candidate of color, - and I'm sure there are other candidates of color on the congressional stage that will feel the same way - it's really an equity issue. I grew up in a single-parent household. I grew up in poverty. I'm a teacher, so I can't call a bunch of big donors to fund my campaign. The barrier to entry, particularly for candidates of color, particularly for first-time candidates, is incredibly hard.
If we want to balance the playing field we need to give people an opportunity to have their voice heard and participate in our democracy. That's why ranked-choice voting is critically important. It works, and we've seen it work internationally. Ireland has been doing ranked-choice voting for a long time, and so has Australia, and it has proven beneficial to the voters there.
[Under ranked-choice voting], each vote counts to the fullest extent possible. The current system that only allows you to have one vote go toward one person is archaic. It's a system that has been a part of our electoral process for a long time, but it's important to have change in our democracy so as to allow for more voices to be reflected in the process.
[Ranked-chaoice voting also] lessens the incentive to run negative campaigns. We're running this congressional district race right now and what we're seeing, especially as things start dwindling down, is a lot of mud-slinging, and that's unfortunate. If you had an opportunity to choose many different candidates, you would see less mud-slinging from people trying to take out the front runner or the person who is perceived to be the front runner.
The other piece is that the instant runoff is an aspect of ranked-choice voting where it's faster and it's cheaper than a [separate] runoff election so you don't have to have another election which results in big money pouring into these electoral campaigns. People can vote once and they can rank their votes, so [candidates] don't have to pour more and more money into these campaigns. We need to repeal Citizens United once and for all so that everyone has an equal shot.
Lastly, it lowers the barrier for people like myself, women, and people of color, and that's so important. So that's the reason I'm supportive of ranked-choice voting. I would love to see our legislature act on this and I know that in my capacity as a chair of state legislative affairs on the Providence City Council, I'm going to continue to urge my colleagues to have these kinds of processes where everyone has a shot and your power and privilege doesn't necessarily dictate whether or not you have a seat at the table.
State Senator Ana Quezada (Democrat, District 2, Providence):
This is a great opportunity to talk about elections and the opportunity to fix the problems we have. One issue, especially in communities of color, would be educating people about how to do it. I'm somebody who goes to many elderly high rises and I represent many of them in my district, and for them to vote for one person is sometimes hard. We have to be educating the public.
In this race [CD1] [ranked-chaoice voting] would be wonderful. The people [would] have the opportunity to vote for more than one person, saying, "I like this one first and this one second and this one third."
I cannot agree more with Councilman Goncalves when he spoke about people of color running for office, especially money-wise, because I'm one of the underdogs in this election. I represent one of the poorer communities in Providence and it's very hard. I'm not the one who raised the most money because my community doesn't have money. Most of the money that I got is $20 $50, or $100, and let me tell you, it's been very hard for them to give those donations because when you work and live in the community I represent - low-income families who make minimum wage, it's hard for them to give a check to any politician.
[ranked-chaoice voting] would provide the opportunity for more people of color to run for office in the future. But at the same time, going back to the education piece, I notice how hard it is for early voters. Many times you have to go with them to help them vote. When you give them many choices, it will be harder for them to make that decision. It would be excellent to start educating people on how this process is going to benefit them, how this process would benefit people of color, how this process will benefit elderly people, and how this process will allow them to make better choices when they vote.
If this has worked fine in Alaska, and New York City, it's something that we can implement here. I passed legislation last year about people who sign with an X. In my community, we have many people who don't know how to write and read - people who came from another country. For people who don't know how to write and read, it's harder to make choices and they sign with an X because they don't know how to sign their name. We passed legislation that now they don't have to sign with an X. They can ask somebody else to sign for them.
State Senator Sandra Cano (Democrat, District 8, Pawtucket):
As a proud mom and immigrant, and as a person of color running this campaign, what better time is there to launch this event than in a 12-candidate election for a primary?
Let's talk about the amazing diversity that we have in this election. I would say, as my colleagues already mentioned, that ranked-choice voting encourages campaigns to be more positive. I have always [run positive campaigns] ever since I was first elected to the school committee, then to city council, and then to the state senate. Every time I chose to debate the issues, not the person. I know that you are non-partisan here, but it's important because as a party we should always have unity first.
Let's think about it. If I am not the first choice, I want to be the second choice. People in this country are tired of division and don't want our democratic values and our democratic choices to be so divisive. People don't talk to each other to get policy work done for others. ranked-choice voting is a good way to encourage that behavior.
I am very excited that you have this group of volunteers doing civic engagement in Rhode Island because that's ultimately what engages people in the civic process. If we want our democracy to work, people need to understand how to see their choices and how to see the candidates in front of them.
Last legislative session, I was very proud to see Senator Val Lawson put in legislation to make sure that we do primary presidential elections by ranked-choice In Rhode Island. She did an amazing job at the State House. She did ranked-choice voting in the hallways of the State House, voting for chocolate. She had pieces of chocolate in front of people and you chose your first choice and second choice. Senator Lawson announced the results on the floor of the Senate, and people get to go through the process at the State House. There is legislation introduced at the state level.
We must make sure we organize and make sure that we bring up the issues of equity and unity. The strategy here is to make sure that we educate the community about the opportunities that we have with ranked-choice.
I'm excited to hear from a lot of folks supporting ranked-choice voting, but even more so, with all the candidates that are running and their colleagues endorsing them - they'll get this passed, right? Because we're talking about democratic unity, I'm sure that they will ensure that this in fact passes.
One of the main things that I love is data. I'm a big fan and a big proponent of data and the accuracy of data. When you omit certain pieces of information, it's not really reflective of the entire general public. I know that we gave the example of fish, I know we gave the example of chocolate, but what if you have folks that don't like fish or chocolate and those are their only choices?
Making sure [our elections] are fully reflective of what our options are really captures your vote. That is the essence of democracy. It's being able to capture your vote in an accurate way that reflects the population at hand.
I find political polls interesting because it's only a segment of a group based on whoever shares that poll - you don't get a reflection of what the scope of the problem is. How can you make an informative decision with biased information or data? ranked-choice voting curves that, right? It allows you to see the full pendulum of what your options are and then be able to make an informed decision based on what your preferences are and having the entire population reflect that, so whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, your vote in fact counts.
Because I'm a fan of data, if we had ranked-choice voting in this election, we would see a different outcome. Unfortunately because of the way that it is, a lot of folks might get 5% or 2% of the vote - even with low turnout, people will get low numbers. What that does is incentivize someone like me to run again, right? If the winner didn't win by that much, how do I know that folks really wanted you to win?
Being able to leverage accurate data is very important. It's beyond politics. It's reflective of the voices of individuals and I think that's the most critical piece.
Gabe Amo sent a video:
People across the country know democracy in our nation is at risk, that the presidency of Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans in Congress and in state legislatures across the country threaten to undermine our elections for years to come. That's why I'm proud to support efforts to improve our electoral system, to reinstill faith in our democracy, and ensure confidence in the selection of our leaders. It is so important. ranked-choice voting has been shown to be successful in other places like Maine, and I'm supportive of trying it here in Rhode Island as a pilot effort, to see how it works.
With any big change to a process like voting, there needs to be a robust discussion with stakeholders - people like election administrators, local boards of canvassers, and of course, most importantly, actual voters. I look forward to this process moving forward. I'm happy to see young people leading these efforts and I'm happy to be supportive in any way I can.
Following the candidate panel, Ocean State RCV's volunteer leadership team shared their vision for an inclusive, diverse grassroots movement reflective of the full range of Rhode Islanders' identities, experiences, and political beliefs. The transcription has been edited for clarity. The names link to a video of their comments.
Michael Garman, executive director of Ocean State RCV:
As Senators Quezada and Cano talked about in their remarks, it's important that we get out and spread the word to as many people as possible. We're educating voters and being intentional about whom we reached out to. We're trying to get in touch with as many groups and communities as we can, trying to build a coalition that's as diverse as possible in terms of ideology, background, and experience. We want to make sure that our movement is working for and includes everyone because we truly believe that this is a change that can work for everyone. We want everyone to be part of it. Our early goal is to reach 5,000 supporters and have 500 potential volunteers.
This is not an easy or quick job, but this is something we believe we can do. The more people we have here, the more people who are talking to voters and presenting to community groups, the better we're going to be at bringing this about.
We're part of the Let Rhode Island Vote Coalition as part of the Common Cause of Rhode Island's Voting Access Coalition. And we're happy to support their advocacy efforts. They're currently working on a measure that would implement same-day voter registration in Rhode Island. We think that's a commonsense, practical, and very important cause so we are excited to be working with them, working and other coalition partners like the Rhode Island Democratic Women's Caucus, The Women Project, the Providence Branch of the NAACP, and all the different groups that are aligned in support of voter advocacy, access, and choice.
As Senator Cano alluded to in her remarks, there is a legislative effort underway right now, sponsored by 10 members of each chamber of the General Assembly this past session. Representative Rebecca Kislak (Democrat, District 4, Providence) and Senator Valerie Lawson (Democrat, District 14, East Providence, Pawtucket) are the lead sponsors of that. In this phase, we'll be working on building our coalition and reaching as many folks as possible, but we'll also be interested in targeting the districts of key legislators, such as committee chairs, who control the flow of bills to the floors of the House and Senate, making sure folks are talking to their legislators and pressuring them to support ranked-choice voting. But again, we need a strong base. We need as many folks as possible to support our movement so we can point to this and say, look at us.
We have a strong group, we have a passionate group. This is something voters care about and understand that's why the voter education piece remains crucial throughout. Presidential primaries are an excellent place to start for several reasons. One is that there's already a legislative effort there, so there's already support. Another is that in Rhode Island, the presidential primary, as you all know, is on its own ballot. It's the only race on the ballot when you go in to vote that day. So it's a bit less intimidating than walking in and seeing 15 different rank choice grids when you've never used that before. We can start off small to get people familiar with the process. And so there's that. Presidential primaries are some of the most important elections - few races are more important than picking your party's nominee for the highest office in the country.
Phase three is very similar to phase two. Everywhere ranked-choice voting has been implemented voters are excited. Voters want more ranked-choice voting, and we are going to capitalize on that enthusiasm and repeat the legislative strategy. Expanding ranked-choice voting past presidential primaries into other primaries. This is especially important in Rhode Island where the democratic primary, regardless of how you feel about that, is often the de facto general election. It's especially important to make sure that the person who is the favorite to win the election is someone who is supported by the majority of the voters in their district and their constituency.
The final phase, and this is well down the line, is ranked-choice voting for general elections. This will likely require a constitutional amendment requiring two-thirds of each chamber in the general assembly and a simple majority of voters at the ballot box in the next election. This is a key stage where it's important that as many people as possible know what ranked-choice is, know how it works, and know why it matters.
By this point, voters will have become familiar with it, from using it in primary elections. Voters will be excited about it. We'll have an idea of how it works. It will not be easy. It's hard to get two-thirds of anyone to agree on anything, let alone the general assembly. But this is our long-term goal. This is where we would like to see ourselves end up someday.
I spoke with Michael Garmon after the launch:
Steve Ahlquist: Would you be interested in seeing ranked-choice voting happen in municipalities, for city council or mayoral races?
Michael Garman: We would certainly be interested. One issue is that many city council town council races are at large, meaning it would have to be multi-seat, proportional, ranked-choice voting. And it's unclear whether that's compatible with risk-limiting audits. This procedure we have to do to make by state law to make sure
Steve Ahlquist: So it would work in Providence, for instance, but not necessarily in Woonsocket.
Michael Garman: Correct. They work for single-winner ranked-choice voting. We've seen it in practice, we've seen it in places like San Francisco, but it hasn't been tested. There's no academic research.
Steve Ahlquist: Anything else I should know?
Michael Garman: Ranked-choice voting has the potential to amplify turnout, typically by at least 10%. It also uplifts marginalized voices. It can't single-handedly solve every systemic issue that our society faces, but we can help to somewhat level the playing field, help more candidates of color, women candidates, and LGBTQ candidates have more of a fair chance. That's important to us. We want everyone to have a fair chance and fair representation.
Nathan Lockwood, is the executive director of Rank the Vote USA, a national group supporting ranked-choice voting:
There's a learning curve if you want to change voting, right? We've been voting the same way for about 200 years. When you learn about ranked-choice voting, most folks see that it offers a lot of advantages. But the thing we're up against is, when you explain ranked-choice voting to folks, about 60% of them say, "I like that." But most people still haven't heard of it. That's why the work Ocean State RCV is so important.
A lot of great things happen in Rhode Island and it's an opportunity where a small state can make a big difference. Another relatively small state population-wise, Maine, back in 2016, decided to become the first state to pass ranked-choice voting for all their state and federal elections. That's what inspired the folks in Massachusetts and that got me involved. Now Rank the Vote works with over half the state groups like this one in over half the states in the United States.
There's a group we work with in Illinois, Fair Vote Illinois, that formed about four years ago. Two weeks ago, Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation to study implementing ranked-choice voting for presidential elections, which was a big deal. Last year that same group got ranked-choice voting passed in the city of Evanston, just outside of Chicago, with 82% of the vote there. That got folks in Chicago excited and now all of Illinois is talking about what a great thing this could be for them, especially after a mayor's race that was very similar to your congressional primary here with a lot of candidates running. Even the winner of that race said ranked-choice voting would be a good thing.
Let's work towards that.
Here’s the video:
thank you- as always, great coverage