[Adapted from an article by Bradley Bobbs, PhD which first appeared in LP News and submitted by June Genis]
Ranked-Choice Voting would eliminate the greatest barrier that stands in the way of the LP becoming a major player in US politics: the “wasted vote” syndrome. RCV addresses the “wasted vote” syndrome by allowing voters to express true preferences without abandoning a lesser-evil option. This system promises to provide accurate support metrics, increase party credibility, and potentially eliminate costly, inefficient primaries.
Almost all voters believe that an LP candidate has no chance of winning. This belief makes them feel that a vote for the LP would be “wasted” and so they instead vote for the least evil candidate they believe can win. Their wasted-vote belief thus becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. In California this effect is magnified by our current Top 2 electoral system. Wasted vote syndrome means that no Libertarian candidate is likely to make it past the primary to even appear on the general election ballot unless their only opposition is a single major party candidate.
But suppose that in the primary voters could cast a 1st-choice vote for the LP candidate that they really like, and a 2nd choice vote for a lesser evil? In the multiple rounds of RCV voting the candidate with the lowest vote in each round is eliminated and the people who voted for that person have their vote transferred to their next highest choice. People could vote their conscience, take a stand for the LP, and still vote to defeat the greatest evil. Their vote would not be wasted, and so they would no longer have any reason not to vote this way. While the LP candidate might not actually win, the number of people voting for our candidate in round one would give us a much better idea of our current level of support. An LP candidate could even get enough votes to be taken more seriously in future elections.
Best of all RCV provides a path to eliminating primaries entirely. With reasonable ballot access rules for all candidates, a majority winner could be determined in a single general election saving the entire cost of a taxpayer funded primary earlier in the year.
To learn more visit: How Ranked Choice Voting Works