Ranked Choice Voting Campaign Falls Short in Massachusetts

image
Shawn GriffithsShawn Griffiths
Published: 03 Nov, 2020
2 min read

Despite an 11-point advantage in the polls ahead of Election Day, the "Yes on 2" campaign to bring ranked choice voting to Massachusetts fell short Tuesday. By the end of election night, 55% of voters turned down the proposal to change how voters cast the ballots in the Commonwealth.

Ranked choice voting would have allowed state voters to rank political candidates in order of preference rather than choosing only one.

“We came up short in this election, and we are obviously deeply disappointed,” said "Yes on 2" campaign manager Cara Brown McCormick.

“But that’s certainly no reflection of the hard work of the thousands of dedicated volunteers, staff and surrogates of this campaign. Even amidst a global pandemic, we were able to mobilize a movement to strengthen our democracy in a time when it’s needed most. We were attempting to do something historic in Massachusetts and fell short, but the incredible groundswell of support from volunteers and reformers that assembled behind this campaign is reason enough to stay optimistic about the future of our democracy.”

The path to the November ballot wasn’t easy for the “Yes on 2” campaign. The COVID-19 pandemic created a significant barrier for ballot measure campaigns across the country to collect enough valid signatures to go before voters. 

However, the RCV campaign won a lawsuit that allowed it to collect signatures online amidst social distancing and stay-at-home orders. It then collected enough signatures to shatter state records and pave a clear path to the ballot.

Momentum, it seemed, was on the campaign's side. It even brought on a cross-partisan coalition of supporters that included former Republican Governor Bill Weld and former Democratic Governor Deval Patrick, and other prominent figures in the Commonwealth. It also received the endorsement of:

  • U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren,
  • U.S. Senator Edward Markey,
  • Former U.S. Secretary of State and U.S. Senator John Kerry,
  • Former Republican Lt. Governor Kerry Murphy Healey
  • State Attorney General Maura Healey,
  • Andrew Yang,
  • 87 members of the Massachusetts legislature,
  • MassVOTE,
  • Common Cause,
  • And the League of Women Voters

And more.

If, passed, ranked choice voting would have been used in state executive, legislative, and US congressional and Senate elections starting in 2022.

Ranked choice voting failed to pass in both states in which it was on the ballot. However, it was successful in all 5 cities where it was on the ballot, including Albany and Eureka, California, Bloomington and Minnetonka, Minnesota, and Boulder, Colorado.

IVP Donate

You Might Also Like

National Reform Organizations Condemn Texas and California Over Gerrymandering
National Reform Organizations Condemn Texas and California Over Gerrymandering
The United States has passed the point of no return in the unprecedented mid-cycle redistricting fight between Texas and California, which threatens to expand to other states like Republican-controlled Florida and Democratic-controlled New York....
25 Aug, 2025
-
6 min read
Gerrymandering Wars Escalate Beyond Texas and California: A National Race to the Bottom?
Gerrymandering Wars Escalate Beyond Texas and California: A National Race to the Bottom?
Republicans currently hold a narrow 219 to 212 edge over Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, with four vacancies: three from Democratic members who have died and one from a Republican who has resigned. This is the smallest House majority held by either party in nearly a century. The razor-thin margin means the stakes in the 2026 midterms could not be higher. With so few competitive seats left nationwide, both parties are turning to mid-decade redistricting as a way to secure advantages....
27 Aug, 2025
-
10 min read
Hand in ballot that says independent on it.
Why 1.2 Million California Independents Are The Biggest Wild Card in American Politics Today
The fate of Proposition 50, California’s proposed redistricting measure, may come down to voters who have declined to join one of the two major political parties....
22 Aug, 2025
-
5 min read