McMorris: How could ranked choice voting reshape California politics?
Briefly

Zohran Mamdani's victory in the Democratic primary for New York City's mayoral race highlights the effectiveness of ranked choice voting, which allows voters to express multiple preferences. This system mitigated the need for costly runoff elections when no candidate receives a majority. During the same election, many New York City Council races also did not achieve majority votes. Supporters claim ranked choice voting decreases negative campaigning and enhances representation for marginalized groups. Its growing adoption across U.S. cities illustrates increasing support for this electoral reform.
Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates by preference, eliminating the one with the least first-choice votes until a candidate receives over 50% approval.
Supporters argue that ranked choice voting minimizes wasted votes and encourages a more representative slate of candidates, particularly benefiting women and people of color.
This voting method helps avoid negative campaigning and enables voters to express genuine preferences without fear of spoiling the election for favored candidates.
Over 63 jurisdictions in the U.S. have adopted some form of ranked choice voting, indicating growing popularity and acceptance of this electoral approach.
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