Shawn Griffiths
Photo by Curated Lifestyle on Unsplash
Citizen Data polled US voters following the 2024 elections and found that nearly half (47%) said they cast their ballot, not for the candidate they supported the most, but for the candidate they determined was the 'lesser of two evils.'
The national poll sampled 1,000 voters that closely reflected the turnout and outcome of the 2024 elections, with 50% voting for President-Elect Donald Trump and 48.3% voting for Vice President Kamala Harris. The poll was commissioned by FairVote.
“Americans want more choices at the ballot box, but they’re afraid of wasting their vote on a candidate who can’t win or supporting a potential ‘spoiler,'" said Deb Otis, the group's director of research and policy.
FairVote is the nation's preeminent organization advocating for ranked choice voting as a solution to the "spoiler effect." Otis says ranked choice voting "lets Americans vote honestly." However, the issue of choice in elections runs deeper than a single reform solution.
The question is, if voters were given the means to rank their options in the 2024 presidential election, would their sentiments have been any different looking at the candidates on the ballot?
It certainly would have prevented a candidate from winning states like Michigan and Wisconsin with less than 50% of the vote. However, there is also the issue of the choices on the ballot and how much voters had a say from the start.
Consider that this election cycle began with a rematch between Trump and President Joe Biden that over two-thirds of US voters said they didn't want. In fact, voters explicitly said they were "tired of seeing the same candidates in presidential elections."
Then, in August, Biden dropped out and the Democratic Party chose Vice President Kamala Harris, who might have been a different candidate, but was part of the same administration.
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Voters' options were a Republican nominee who has campaigned for president in the last 3 election cycles and a Democratic nominee who could not separate herself from the status quo and was seen as an extension of Biden.
Even the national Green Party nominated Dr. Jill Stein, who has been the party's nominee 3 times. It's the same names and faces each election cycle -- which is the exact thing most voters say they want changed.
The choice is made for voters rather than by them, which has led to an increasing number of US adults who feel that neither major party represents them and a surge in independent identification.
Especially among young voters, who Citizen Data found were more likely to say they voted with a "lesser of two evils" mindset.
The "spoiler effect" gets talked about a lot, even in legacy media outlets. However, one thing the media doesn't question is how the system was manufactured to give voters the same candidates each cycle, none of whom seem to offer what voters need.