The GOP in numerous states has made it "an article of faith" to oppose ranked-choice voting and try to ban it, but according to a new analysis from MS NOW, the real results show that these Republicans are "telling on themselves."
Writing for MS NOW on Tuesday, reporter Ryan Teague Beckwith broke down Georgia's unique use of ranked-choice voting as voters in the state's 14th District head to the polls to fill the seat recently vacated by Marjorie Taylor Greene. As he explained, while most residents in Georgia will have to vote the old-fashioned way, ranked-choice voting is used for military personnel and those currently living overseas. Meanwhile, Beckwith noted, "Republicans in the state are pushing to ban it for everyone else."
Ranked-choice voting involves voters ranking their preferred candidates in descending order, rather than just choosing a single candidate. Top choices get one vote in the first round, and if no candidate gets 50 percent or more, the lowest-ranked candidate is removed from the field and their votes are given to the candidates their voters ranked second. This process continues until a candidate receives a majority of the vote.
As Beckwith explains, this process is viewed as a "better way to vote" by many and brings with it numerous advantages.
"Research has also shown that it can boost turnout, reduce negative campaigning, increase the number of women and minority candidates, eliminate the 'spoiler effect' of third-party candidates, elect more moderates and make governing more bipartisan," Beckwith explained. "That’s why it’s used in elections from the New York City Democratic mayoral primary won by Zohran Mamdani to statewide races in Maine and Alaska to Australian national elections. It’s even used to determine the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Heisman Trophy."
Despite all those benefits, the process has come under heavy fire from Republicans, some of whom have accused it of being a scam to help elect more Democrats. As of March, 19 red states have outright banned ranked-choice voting altogether.
Beckwith argued, however, that the results of ranked-choice voting show no indication that it produces results favoring one party over the other. Some candidates are consistently hurt by the process, however, and Beckwith suggested that the trend reveals what Republicans might actually be worried about.
"In fact, the only candidates that it seems to hurt are ideological extremists who disdain bipartisanship and struggle to reach out to their rival’s supporters," he explained. "Lawmakers who continue to oppose it may be telling on themselves more than they realize."