logo

13 States Consider Expanding Use of Ranked Choice Voting in 2016

image
Fair VoteFair Vote
Published: 09 Feb, 2016
2 min read

With a new year comes a new legislative session in state houses around the U.S. 2016 has seen state legislators nationwide use this opportunity to empower voters by introducing bills that create new uses of ranked choice voting (RCV) at the state and local levels. Just one month into this year’s session, at least 27 pro-RCV bills have been introduced in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

The proposed measures advance RCV in a variety of ways. Bills in Georgia, Massachusetts, and Vermont, for example, call for those states to join the five jurisdictions already providing ranked ballots to overseas and military voters. In states such as Maryland, Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey, lawmakers are discussing legislation that would enable local governments to use RCV. New York again will debate legislation to establish RCV for New York City’s citywide primary elections that passed the state Senate last year with a large bipartisan majority. Proposed laws in Hawaii and Rhode Island would have RCV used in elections for state-level offices.

A Washington bill that has passed one chamber would allow localities to resolve voting rights challenges with a multi-winner version of RCV. Another Maryland bill would establish an interstate compact to use fair representation voting methods such as ranked choice voting for congressional elections. We anticipate even more bills that advance RCV will be introduced later this year in other states and in Congress.

Check out the map below to see if there’s pending RCV legislation in your state and a simple listing with links below. You can use this tool from Open States to find out who your state legislators are and ask them to support laws that will give more voters the freedom to rank candidates in order of choice so that everyone’s voice is heard, and majority rule is upheld.

Editor's Note: This post, written by Ethan Fitzgerald, originally published on FairVote's blog on February 9, 2016, and has been modified slightly for publication on IVN.

You Might Also Like

Proposition 50 voter guide
California Prop 50: Partisan Power Play or Necessary Counterpunch?
November 4 marks a special election for what has become the most controversial ballot measure in California in recent memory: Proposition 50, which would circumvent congressional districts drawn by the state’s independent redistricting commission for a legislative-drawn map....
01 Oct, 2025
-
9 min read
court gavel.
Virtual Discussion: The Fight for Equal Independent Voting Rights Makes it to SCOTUS
Every major voting rights movement in U.S. history – whether successful or not – has intertwined with landmark litigation. This was the case for women’s suffrage. It was the case for civil rights. And it is the case in the ongoing effort to protect the right of all voters to have equal participation in taxpayer-funded elections – something millions of independent voters are denied across the U.S....
29 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read
Supreme Court building
SCOTUS Considers Challenge to Closed Primaries -- Here's Why It Is Such a Big Deal
In a dramatic step forward for litigation challenging closed primaries, the U.S. Supreme Court has indicated they are going to conference to discuss whether to grant a writ of certiorari to Polelle v. Florida Secretary of State; a case challenging Florida's closed primaries that Open Primaries has supported since its inception....
26 Sep, 2025
-
2 min read