Action | Ranked Choice Voting Regulations and Ballot Standards |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 8/9/2021 |
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I would only support rank-choice voting in primaries so the winner can say they won with a majority of the vote vs. a plurality. Primary voters, in general, are more motivated and possibly more engaged than general election voters and there are fewer of them, so won't be rushed while filling out the complex ballot. Virginia must avoid the mess that was in New York City. The Republican Party of Virginia handled rank-choice voting in its unassembled convention quite well, so that may be a good model for Virginia. Hand counting had this go on for days and I would not recommend that counting method in the state primary.
I served in municipal office for 10 years in Loudoun, four years on the Board of Supervisors and 6 on the Leesburg Town Council. So, I ran in a multiple candidate ballot situation three times (vote for 1, 2 or 3) for Council and then Republican vs. Democrat for the Board of Supervisors. I would not support rank-choice voting in multiple candidate ballots. It could be very very confusing.
My preference is to do it for primaries not general elections and while we're at it, I wish we would have closed primaries.