News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 24, 2022
MEDIA CONTACT
Kyle Herman, Co-Executive Director of Rank the Vote Ohio, kherman@rankthevoteohio.org, 330-310-8561
Regardless of District Lines, Ranked Choice Voting is a Better Way to Vote
Attorney General Yost suggests Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). Ohio nonpartisan nonprofit is poised to provide education and resources.
STATEWIDE IN OHIO – Secretary of State Frank LaRose has warned that the delay in finalizing Ohio’s legislative district maps could prevent the certification of candidates in time for the May primaries. In a letter to the Ohio General Assembly, Attorney General Dave Yost raised the possibility of using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as an alternative to the primary process if elections are not held on time.
RCV is a simple upgrade to our ballot that is rapidly gaining support across the country. It allows voters to rank their choices so an instant runoff can be used to guarantee winners have the support of a majority.
According to the website for FairVote, a national nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all, “43 jurisdictions across the country used RCV in their most recent elections.” Maine and Alaska use RCV statewide.
RCV could heal the deep divisions in our politics. FairVote’s research shows RCV brings more civil campaigning. “Candidates need to appeal to a broader range of voters in order to win. Candidates have less incentive to make negative statements about their opponents because they risk alienating that opponent’s supporters.”
A movement to bring RCV to Ohio is growing. Kyle Herman, Co-Executive Director of Rank the Vote Ohio, states “Attorney General Yost was correct to advise the General Assembly to consider Instant Runoffs with Ranked Choice Voting as a solution to their problem. RCV has a precedent being used successfully in Ohio’s municipal elections more than 100 years ago, and other states currently use it to help narrow crowded fields of candidates so that the most popular can win without the need for a time-consuming and expensive runoff. All of our elections would be more free and fair with RCV, and Rank the Vote Ohio is ready to help lawmakers bring RCV to Ohio the right way.”
Sunday, February 27, 2:00-3:30 pm, Rank the Vote Ohio will be holding their Virtual Monthly Strategy Meeting. Attendees will learn the process for bringing RCV to their city through the Charter Review process. Ohioans who want to learn about RCV are welcome to attend. Registration can be found at https://www.rankthevoteohio.org/feb2022.
###Rank the Vote Ohio is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization leading the way to educate Ohioans on RCV and is in support of bringing it to Ohio in the right way. Since August 2020, Rank the Vote Ohio has amassed thousands of supporters, hundreds of volunteers, and endorsements from organizations across the political spectrum. Volunteers are available to educate elected officials, organizations and the public about the process and benefits for Ohio voters.
People Planet Principles
RCV opens up political choice at a time Americans are hungry for more of it. RCV lets you rank your choices instead of voting for just one candidate. If your first choice loses and there’s no majority winner, your vote is automatically re-assigned to your second choice. This makes it impossible to “split the vote” or “spoil the election” and ensures the winner has majority support. It also brings more voices and viewpoints into our elections, and makes ”lesser evil” voting obsolete.
It’s in our hands!
Jill Stein
Green Party 2016 Presidential Candidate
It is going to take a sustained mass movement to abolish the Electoral College and replace it with a ranked-choice national popular vote for president. But we have as much reason now as ever to campaign for it. We almost had the 7.1 million popular vote loser, Donald Trump, installed in the presidency by the Electoral College again this year. Meanwhile, five more cities and one state adopted ranked-choice voting in the 2020 elections, bringing the total to 38 cities and two states. The Electoral College must go and ranked-choice voting is an idea whose time has come.
By Howie Hawkins
Green Party 2020 Presidential Candidate