I’m beginning to think that ranked-choice voting might be a way for voters to exercise quality control in a party primary in a way that party bosses used to. The way it works, if no one gets 50 percent then the candidate with the least support gets eliminated, and the votes they got go to the candidates who their supporters ranked second. In 2016, Donald Trump won most GOP primaries with 30 to 35 percent, meaning that 2/3 of Republican primary voters wanted another candidate. How many of those voters do you think would have ranked Trump second? And there is a fight over ranked choice voting happening right now. It is being used for the first time in a statewide election tomorrow, June 12, in Maine, in primary contests for Congress and governor. Lee Drutman, of the New America Foundation, joins me to talk about it.
Here's a good New York Times piece on how ranked choice voting works.
And here's a good NPR report on what's happening in Maine.
Lee's piece on multi-member congressional districts is here.
David Brooks praised Lee's idea in this piece.
Here's a link to the Jennifer Lawrence ad supporting ranked choice voting.
Outro music: “Future Suite” by Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks
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Lee Drutman on Ranked Choice Voting & Multi-Member Congressional Districts