Does Ranked Choice Voting Really Increase Voter Participation?

• In Event: Ranked-Choice Voting in a Difficult Voting-Rights Climate

Abstract

Advocates of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) make a number of positive claims about this voting reform. One principal advantage is that, under a ranked voting system in which voters may feel they are not wasting their votes, RCV should bring more voters into the election. Indeed, some anecdotal evidence suggests that the growing experience with RCV may show higher turnout. However, the rate of voter turnout is difficult to measure accurately, particularly at the local level. Reported turnout among registered voters is a function of the changing population, the administrative attention to voting records and so forth. The most effective means to increase voter turnout in municipal elections would simply be to make them concurrent with November state and national elections, a proposal that many municipal leaders would oppose. To accurately identify change in voter turnout, several elections need to be compared. Changes in voter turnout should be measured across time (between one election and the preceding election), across election type (within national, state, and local), and accounting for variance within electoral constituencies (change from one precinct to another). Voter participation can be measured in several ways including overall voter turnout, ballot roll-off, and (the most difficult valid measure) within ethnic or minority communities. This analysis compares voter participation for RCV elections for several municipalities across time and elections in the state of Maine. Although there is a novelty effect for the introduction of RCV, an increase in voter participation overall is not strongly supported.

Author

• James W. Endersby, University of Missouri