Mass. Voters May Get Ranked Choice Voting on the 2020 Ballot

image
Created: 09 Aug, 2019
Updated: 14 Aug, 2022
1 min read

Voter Choice Massachusetts is proposing a ballot initiative to implement ranked choice voting statewide. The group has filed language with the state attorney general ahead of Wednesday's deadline.

Independent Voter News was at the forefront of the historic passage of ranked choice voting in Maine in 2016 and then again in 2018 when it was used for the first time in statewide and non-presidential federal primary elections and US House and US Senate general elections. It decided one of the two US House races in the midterm election.

Quick recap: Under ranked choice voting, voters rank the candidates in order of preference. Then, if no candidate gets over 50% of the vote after the first vote, instant runoffs are held where the last place candidate is eliminated and their voters' next choice is added to the remaining candidates' totals. The process continues until a candidate wins majority support.

Inspired by the successful efforts in Maine, Voter Choice Mass. hopes Massachusetts will be the second state to pass RCV statewide. Their efforts have been focused on lobbying the legislature, but now they plan to have both the legislative and ballot measure option to get ranked choice voting passed.

Read More: Voter Choice Massachusetts made our list of 10 organizations to watch in 2020

Grassroots reform groups are also working in numerous other states and local municipalities to pass ranked choice voting, including New York City, Minnesota, Colorado, New Hampshire, and many other places

Latest articles

Wall sign that says politics.
Most American Votes Don't Matter — New Research Highlights Crisis in Electoral Representation
A new report from the Unite America Institute reveals a sobering truth about American democracy: in most elections, the vast majority of votes cast have zero influence on the outcome....
14 Apr, 2025
-
2 min read
Cargo ship and harbor with a picture of the globe in the water.
Trump's Trade War: When Bad Economics Makes Good Politics
Last week, Americans witnessed President Trump's "art of the deal" in action as his administration imposed sweeping tariffs on global trading partners, only to roll them back after markets cratered and bond yields spiked....
14 Apr, 2025
-
1 min read
Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee Embraces Ranked Choice Strategy as Oakland’s Mayoral Race Enters Final Stretch
With Oakland’s high-stakes special mayoral election coming up on April 15, former U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee has released a video outlining a ranked choice voting (RCV) strategy — officially urging her supporters to rank multiple names on their ballots....
14 Apr, 2025
-
2 min read