Rep. Raskin, House Democrats Introduce Ranked Choice Voting Bill

Statement

Congressman Jamie Raskin (MD-08) and a group of House Democrats introduced the Ranked Choice Voting Act, H.R. 4464, which would require the states to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) in primary and general elections for Congress beginning in 2022. The bill would also authorize federal funding to help states implement this change, including adapting equipment if necessary and conducting voter education.

"It makes me proud to introduce this legislation to make America's elections fairer, more positive, more efficient, and more representative," said Rep. Raskin. "Our legislation will ensure that candidates who are elected to Congress are the ones who have most successfully assembled a majority of voters. It will also lift up the voices of a much broader cross-section of the voting public, because voters who prefer less popular candidates in the first round of voting can still play a role in forging a majority for the ultimate winning candidate."

"It will also make our campaigns far more positive," Rep. Raskin continued. "Instead of trying to win votes by denigrating their opponent, candidates will have an incentive to flatter other candidates to win over their supporters."

With RCV, voters rank candidates in order of choice. If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, he or she wins, just like in any election. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who picked that candidate as "number 1' have their votes counted for their next favored choice. This process continues until a candidate wins with more than half the votes.

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