Don't place your bets on ranked choice voting

Bringing ranked choice voting (RCV) to Illinois is being considered in HB2807 and SB1456 by the Democratic supermajority legislature. It will fundamentally uproot our traditional majoritarianism (the idea that the numerical majority of a population should have the final say in determining the outcome), including the founders of the United States such as James Madison. The leading proponent of RCV is FairVote Illinois, saying it can eliminate some of the problems that plague the current system in place since our Founding Fathers.

RCV is similar to betting on the horses in the Kentucky Derby by placing an "across the board" bet where if your chosen horse wins, you cash all three wagers. If he settles for second place, you'll cash the place bet and show bet. And if he comes in third, at least your show bet will return some cash. Whatever, the race outcome, it's over with the results final; no do over because the first place horse didn't win by 50%.

In an RCV election, the candidate with the majority (more than 50%) of first-choice votes wins outright. If no candidate gets a majority of first-choice votes, then it triggers a new counting process. The candidate who did the worst is eliminated and that candidate's voters' ballots are redistributed to their second-choice pick. But, if none of the remaining two candidates gets 50% after redistributed votes the process continues until there is a candidate who has the majority of votes or another Election Day for remaining two candidates.

In other words, RCV voters cast legitimate ballots for their first choice, but were ultimately excluded when determining the "majority winner" and it improves the election process according to FairVote Illinois.

Just say no to RCV and the Democrats.

Robert Meale

Crystal Lake