Missourians will decide whether to block cities from using ranked-choice voting system

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (KY3)—Missourians will be asked this election whether to block cities and counties from adopting an alternative election format that would give each voter more power on the ballot.

Amendment 7 bans “Ranked Choice Voting,” a process that allows voters to rank the candidates in order of preference on their ballot. RCV creates a system that only elects candidates who achieve a majority, at least 50% plus one vote, of support.

Any voter who has ever complained about being forced to vote for “the lesser of two evils” would no longer feel obligated to support a candidate who’s not their first choice to avoid spoiling the election and handing it to a candidate they prefer even less.

RCV does this because each ballot asks voters not just which candidate they prefer but how much they prefer each candidate. Amendment 7 was placed on the ballot by a resolution passed by state lawmakers. The first provision voters see on the ballot question is whether to change voting law from allowing “all citizens” to vote in elections to allowing “only citizens” to vote.

Republican sponsors of the resolution said Amendment 7 is meant to stop any possibility of a non-citizen casting a ballot.

Opponents point out that any non-citizen who might want to exploit that loophole would have to go to court first anyway. Opponents of Amendment 7 believe its real goal is to eliminate ranked choice voting as an option.

“It’s a deliberate attempt to trick Missouri voters into voting for something that will limit their choices in elections going forward,” said Larry Bradley, who leads Better Ballot KC.

Supporters of the ban argue that the RCV system is too complicated for voters to understand and, therefore, trust.

“I think the ballot itself could be confusing because you’re trying to figure out not only the candidate that you would like to see elected but who is your second preference, who is your third, who is your fourth, what variables come in,” State Rep. Brian Sietz, R-Branson. " It just makes it harder for the citizens to vote, and it becomes very confusing.”

How Does RCV work?

On a ballot, each voter gets to select not only their first choice but also their second, third, fourth, and so on.

Then, everyone’s first choice is added up, and if a candidate has a majority (more than 50%), they win.

However, if no candidate gets more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the voters who supported that candidate will have their second-choice votes considered instead.

Still, if no candidate has reached 50% at this point, the candidate with the next-lowest number of first-choice votes is eliminated, etc.

The process can be compared to a state like Georgia, which also requires its candidates to get a majority. In that state, if no candidate reaches a majority of support, the state knocks out all but the top two candidates – and everyone votes again with this new, limited choice.

RCV operates the same way, except it technically performs all the “runoff elections” with one ballot.

For a real-world example of this issue, we can look at the Republican Primary for Secretary of State.

There were 8 candidates in the race and none of them got more than a quarter of voting support.

Senator Denny Hoskins, R-Warrensburg, won the nomination with just over 24% of the votes meaning, 3 out of 4 Republican voters chose someone else.

Likewise, the bottom six candidates earned a combined 59 percent of votes cast.

If ranked-choice voting were implemented here, it would effectively conduct automatic “run-off elections,” and all those who supported Adam Schwadron, Jamie Corley, Valentine Gomez, and so on would have their alternative choices considered.

Secretary of State August 6 Republican Primary Results:

Denny Hoskins, 157,284, 24.414%

Shane Schoeller, 108,435, 16.832%

Mike Carter, 91,956, 14.274%

Dean Plocher, 86,757, 13.467%

Mary Elizabeth Coleman, 73,024, 11.335%

Valentina Gomez, 48,003, 7.451%

Jamie Corley, 46,383, 7.200%

Adam J. Schwadron, 32,388, 5.027%

This process ensures that anyone who wins an office is able to convince a majority of voters to mark that name on their ballot.

Because of that, this style also changes the way candidates campaign by disincentivizing divisiveness.

“When people are competing, they can’t be trashing one another because they need the second and third choices of their competitors with if those competitors are defeated, you want their second and third votes to add to on your way to getting 50% plus one or better,” Bradley said.

That means less negative campaigning and fewer attack ads, making races less about personalities and more about issues.

Those opposed to ranked choice voting say it’s too confusing for voters to understand and to therefore, to trust.

“I think the ballot itself could be confusing because you’re trying to figure out not only the candidate that you would like to see elected but who is your second preference, who is your third, who is your fourth, what variables come in. It just makes it harder for the citizens to vote, and it becomes very confusing.”

Even Sietz admits, though, Ranked Choice Voting would open the door to third-party candidates because voters would no longer be worrying about a spoiler vote.

Some local St. Louis elections already use ranked choice voting, and if this amendment were passed, it would not affect those municipalities, but it would prevent any other local government from trying it.

To report a correction or typo, please email digitalnews@ky3.com. Please include the article info in the subject line of the email.

Copyright 2024 KY3. All rights reserved.