Ranked choice voting (RCV), a process in which voters rank candidates rather than choosing just one candidate, is a proposed state ballot initiative on the Nov. 5 ballot under the name of “Prop 1” that would change the course of voting in the state of Idaho.
RCV is a form of voting where candidates on the ballot would be subject to individual ranking, meaning that voters rank candidates in order of preference. This method gives more insight into the specific popularity of each candidate rather than the traditional “one or the other” option that primaries offer, according to political organizations tracking this effort.
If passed, Idaho Proposition 1, the Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, would strip away the classic partisan primary system, replacing it with a top-four primary system. Currently, both parties hold their own primary elections, with the winners moving onto the general election. Instead, the open primary system doesn’t distinguish between parties. This means that the leading four candidates then go on to the general election rather than just two.
Dr. Markie McBrayer, an American Politics Specialist for the University of Idaho, explained RCV in a simple manner.
“RCV means I don’t have to choose just one candidate on the ballot. Instead, I get to select multiple candidates and rank them,” McBrayer said. “The process goes in rounds where you’re eliminating the lowest ranked candidates, and then reallocating the votes from the lowest ranked candidate to the other candidates.”
As ballots are tallied and votes come in, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated first. For voters whose ballots ranked the failed candidate at their first pick, those votes would be reevaluated, their second-place candidate now getting that vote and moving to their first priority. From there, a new tally will conclude if there is a candidate that has won an outright majority, which is anyone who receives more than 50% of votes.
Abi Sanford Abi Sanford, a staff member of Reclaim Idaho which advocates for Prop 1, explained why RCV and open primaries are linked together in this proposition.
“We needed to include Ranked Choice Voting in the general election to avoid vote splitting as a result from the top-four primary election. Without RCV in the general, there is a chance that a candidate could win with 30% of the vote,” Sanford said. “The top-four primary ensures that all voters are able to participate in our taxpayer funded primaries, voters have more choice in the general election and our elected officials have to appeal to a large coalition of voters in order to win.”
Sanford also claims that the benefits Prop 1 would have on the state are substantial.
“If Prop 1 passes, it would give power to individual citizens as voters making our elected officials more accountable,” Sanford said. “Our leaders will be incentivized to work on issues that matter to the larger public rather than just appealing to the small few who currently vote in the closed primary election.”
On the other hand, Colton Bennett, a student at UI and Latah County Republican Youth Chair, is against Prop 1 because of the repercussions it would have on the state and its voters. A primary reason for his opposition to this is because he deems it to be anti-democratic.
He made three separate points on why the process is anti-democratic, the first being that it could spur a drop in voter turnout.
“Anytime you have something that reduces voter participation, that’s anti-democratic,” Bennett said.
The second point made is that spoiled ballots are a potential for those who wish to not rank a certain candidate.
The third point made is that there is potential for roll-off. Roll-off is a process in which citizens cast their vote the higher up elections, but do not vote when it comes down to the local ones.
“The third anti-democratic measure is something we call roll-off. In Alaska, before RCV, roll-off was about 6%. After RCV, it went to 8%. I think the reason for that is simple. People really struggle with the local races; they don’t have enough information,” Bennett said.
Currently, Idaho is one of only 10 states that prohibited ranked choice voting via state statute. On March 24, 2023, Governor Brad Little signed House Bill 179 that was then put into law.
The law states that, “No county elections office shall use ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting to conduct an election or nomination of any candidate in this state for any local government, statewide, or federal elective office.”
On Nov. 5, 2024, this process will be on the ballot as an initiated state statute and could override the law set by Little.
Although this would be a new form of voting for the state, McBrayer explains that there are some commonly theorized pros to this system.
“There are many theoretical benefits, like ideological moderation, a more complete expression of candidate preferences, larger and more diverse candidate pools and less negative campaigning,” McBrayer said.
On the other hand, a con that Bennett highlights is the expense of implementing a new voting system.
“The Secretary of State estimates 40 million dollars for implementation,” Bennett said. “Prop 1 only does it for state and county partisan offices, so president, city council races, mayor—those would not be affected by Prop 1. This means the county has to maintain two systems of counting the ballots. One for first past the post elections, and a second for ranked choice voting.”
His second reasoning in expense was that the money needed to fund voter education on the new method would be extreme.
As with many political topics, though, the possibility of misinformation and misconceptions are prominent. Sanford explains how the misconceptions voters have of Prop 1 could mislead them.
Many have also made generalizations of Idaho being turned into other states that follow similar voting practices that Prop 1 is promoting.
“Another misconception is that this reform will turn Idaho into California,” Sanford said. “In truth, the system we’re proposing is not what California has at all. A better comparison would be Alaska, which [Idaho’s] Proposition is modeled off of.”
Paige Wilton can be reached at [email protected].