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Better Elections for Illinois

Help Illinois bring Ranked Choice Voting to presidential primaries!

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Voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference – first, second, third, and so on.&nbsp;Votes from the first round are tallied, and if every candidate receives above 15% of the vote, results are final and every candidate receives delegates in proportion to their vote share. The vote threshold is set by the party. If any candidate does not receive above 15%, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. That candidate’s votes are then redistributed to the remaining candidates respective of their voters’ second preferences. This process continues on until all remaining candidates are above the 15% threshold.

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RCV for Democratic Presidential Primaries

Voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference – first, second, third, and so on.&nbsp;Votes from the first round are tallied, and if no candidate receives over 50% of the vote (a threshold set by the party), then the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. That candidate’s votes are then redistributed to the remaining candidates respective of their voters’ second preferences. This process continues on until one candidate secures 50% of the vote. That candidate receives all the delegates.

RCV for Republican Presidential Primaries

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<h4>The current single-choice election process creates tens of thousands of wasted votes.</h4>Why? Because early and absentee voters sometimes vote for candidates who drop out or are no longer viable by a state’s primary date. That means those voters’ choices don’t count for anything.RCV is Better because it prevents wasted votes and gives voters the opportunity to express their full range of preferences, rather than feeling pressure to use their single vote for a compromise candidate.Votes for dropouts or nonviable candidates are simply redistributed to the voter’s next highest-ranked choice. This means that the ultimate nominee has the support of the most number of votersRCV opens the door to more options for voters to ensure the winner actually represents the will of the majority.&nbsp;And, with RCV, voters no longer feel a need to vote against a candidate. Instead, they are able to vote FOR someone. No matter what happens, each person’s vote matters with RCV.

<h4>Nominees are often chosen in negative, divisive primaries and win with just a fraction of their party’s voters behind them.</h4>Instead of trying to win votes through a competition of ideas, our elections have become a race to the bottom, with candidates more focused on convincing voters not to vote for an opponent rather than making the case for why they themselves are a better choice.&nbsp;RCV is Better because it encourages <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://fairvote.org/our-reforms/ranked-choice-voting-information/#incentivizes-positive-campaigning">positive campaign messaging</a>, since candidates must appeal to a wider group of voters to win. Negative campaigning can be a liability if it alienates potential second and third choice votes. That means fewer negative ads bombarding voters.&nbsp;

<h4>It’s no secret that people of color and women are dramatically underrepresented in our politics.</h4>We’ve only ever had one non-white president, and no president has ever been a woman or identified as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Even when diverse candidates do run, they’re seen as having less chance of winning against their opponents.RCV is Better because it has been shown to increase diversity among winners selected with ranked choice ballots. Because RCV voters can vote for who they really want, their true preferences are revealed. It turns out that many voters do support diverse candidates–we just don’t get to see that reflected in our current system. Instead, many people from minority groups feel unseen and unheard by our nation’s leaders. RCV is an opportunity for voters to feel truly represented by the people they elect.

<h2>There is already a <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://govappointments.illinois.gov/boardsandcommissions/details/?id=488e5710-7f2d-ee11-9965-001dd809cbbc">Ranked-Choice and Voting Systems Task Force</a></h2>The Task Force is analyzing what it will take to make elections better by using RCV in Illinois’ presidential primaries. The report, set to be released in Spring 2024, will make way for legislation that allows all parties to opt-in on whether or not to use RCV in their party’s primary.Tell your representatives that we need better elections in Illinois.

Tell your representatives that we need better elections in Illinois.

Dozens of local organizations and leaders are standing together!

Better Elections in Illinois

State representative

Maurice West

State Senator

Laura Murphy

State Representative

Kam Buckner

RCV CAmpaign lead

Chaundra Van Dyk

Mythbusting

Busted: RCV upholds the “one person, one vote” principle.&nbsp;If a voter's first choice candidate is determined to be non-viable, that voter's selection is transferred to their second choice.With RCV, every voter gets exactly one vote, and each vote is treated equally. RCV has been challenged in court several times and every time the court has come to the same conclusion: RCV gives each single vote equal weight.

THE MYTH: With RCV, voters get more than one vote.

Busted: In surveys, voters overwhelmingly report a strong understanding of RCV. Analysis of ballots in RCV jurisdictions demonstrates that large majorities of voters do rank their choices (as opposed to only voting for one candidate) and make few errors in doing so.Over 13 million voters in over 50 jurisdictions have had the opportunity to use RCV. The support indicated in surveys afterward was overwhelming with a huge majority of voters who participated in the ranking process and look forward to doing it again. Studies have also shown that voters don’t make mistakes on RCV ballots any more than they do on single-choice ballots.

THE MYTH: RCV is difficult for voters to understand.

Busted: RCV doesn’t elect candidates who are “everyone’s second choice” because candidates need to win some first-choice support to advance past the first elimination round.

THE MYTH: RCV means that everyone’s second ranked choice will win.

Busted: &nbsp;RCV does not advantage either political party. It advantages the American voter. RCV elects the most representative candidates since it requires a majority threshold (over 50% of the votes) for victory.RCV is used in Republican and Democratic states and cities alike and outcomes across the United States do not demonstrate any partisan bias.

THE MYTH: RCV is a tool to elect one political party over another.

<h4>Care about making elections better in Illinois? </h4>Sign up to receive updates about our efforts to bring RCV to Illinois’ presidential primaries.

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FAQ

Because presidential primaries happen on different dates in different states, some voters end up casting ballots for candidates who end up dropping out by Illinois' primary date or who are no longer viable. Under RCV, those votes will be transferred to their next highest-ranked candidate.

Why are some votes “wasted” in our current single-choice system?

No, they can rank some, all, one or none.

Do voters have to rank all candidates on an RCV ballot?

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RCV benefits voters and candidates

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Currently in our presidential primaries the candidate with the highest number of votes wins – without needing to win the majority of votes.This allows divisive candidates who rev up a narrow base to advance and earn delegates, and because presidential primaries happen on different dates in different states, some people who vote early or absentee vote for candidates who end up dropping out by Illinois’ primary date or are not viable.

Right now legislators in Springfield are participating in a task force to evaluate using RCV in Illinois’ presidential primary elections.&nbsp;This is a great first step to teach voters about RCV and help make sure Illinois’ nominees are truly a reflection of the will of the people.Contact your legislators today!

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Latest Campaign Developments

Ranked choice voting is one idea that could boost turnout and decrease partisanship and negative campaigning.

Voter turnout is always low in primary elections, and Tuesday was an extreme example. Ranked choice voting is one idea that could boost turnout and decrease partisanship and negative campaigning.

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Here’s how to start making the Illinois primary a bigger draw.

Illinois might go for “ranked choice voting” in the next presidential primaries - in which voters can name follow-up choices if their favorite candidate drops out.

Having a second and third option puts voters first

Chicago just got through another election cycle. The February election saw nine, count ‘em, nine candidates for mayor and scores of aldermanic hopefuls. Then on Tuesday, we did it all over again for those races, including the mayoral contest, after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote on Feb. 28. What if there were a different way? What if you could rank your choices in order of your preference?

WTTW News Explains: How Would Ranked Choice Voting Work in Chicago

Election access and integrity are two of the most important issues facing our democracy, which is why I've supported increased access to early voting and vote by mail, and now the next step in election reform, Ranked Choice Voting. That's why I'm championing legislation to adopt RCV in presidential primaries in Illinois.

Guest columnist: Ranked choice voting will prevent wasted votes and secure our elections

Under RCV, voters have the option to rank candidates in order of preference: first, second, third and so on. If their first choice is not viable, their vote counts for their highest-ranked candidate who is. The ability to rank backup choices ensures that voters’ voices are heard and makes sure no one wastes their vote. In addition, RCV ballots are easy to audit, which improves election security.

Laura Murphy &amp; Maurice West: RCV is the future. That’s why we’re bringing it to Illinois

Illinoisans may some day take part in a new way of voting for their elected officials, but not everyone is on board with the idea.&nbsp;A new Illinois law will create a task force to explore options of ranked choice voting. Ranked choice voting allows voters to select their candidates in order from their top choice to their bottom.

Illinois task force looking into ranked choice voting

I am an engineer, which means I am a professional problem-solver. I’m a mother, too, so I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about the problems looming for my small children as they grow into adulthood. Will they have fish in their oceans? Will they be safe from violence? Will they have access to decent jobs? It’s been overwhelming to figure out where to start until I settled onto a solution that addresses all these concerns...

LTE: Ranked choice voting will give our kids a future

Can ranked choice voting promote collaboration?

Illinois is rich with task forces and commissions. They may not move quickly or meet deadlines, but the work they do is foundational.

Eye On Illinois: Task forces can be the early work of significant legislation

There is a counter to brute partisanship. Political reforms such as top-five open primaries and ranked choice voting bring greater focus on moderate candidates and common-ground policies that represent majority views. Katherine Gehl and Michael Porter's book, Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America: A Strategy for Reinvigorating our Democracy, has inspiring solutions to these problems.

Examine opportunities for civility to politics

Alaska is a good example. RCV was adopted there in 2020 as the result of a statewide referendum. In the 2022 election for U.S. representative, Mary Peltola, a Democrat, got 49% of first place votes. She eventually won against Sarah Palin, a Republican, because there were sufficient voters for Nick Begich, a Republican, who preferred Peltola to Palin as their second choice when he was eliminated in the final round.

Ranked-choice assures all voters are heard

At the root of this dysfunction is a political system that exists to sustain the status quo, not build toward the future. The Democratic and Republican parties play the political game so well that only a handful of places in the U.S. experience truly competitive elections. Everywhere else, there’s essentially no way to hold party power in check.

How do we shake American democracy out of complacency? States are leading the way

On Nov. 7, 11 cities across six states used ranked choice voting in their elections, including Boulder, Colorado, which used it for the first time to elect its mayor. Ten more cities -- including Salt Lake City -- were using ranked choice voting when Utah held its elections Nov. 21.

Ashley Houghton and Deb Otis: Ranked choice voting is the clear winner

In this episode of "The Middle with Jeremy Hobson," we're asking whether or not you think democracy itself is at stake in the 2024 election - or if those fears are overblown. Jeremy is joined by Maricopa County, Arizona Supervisor Bill Gates and Vernon Burton, a voting rights expert and professor of history at Clemson University. The Middle's house DJ Tolliver joins as well, plus callers from around the country.

IS DEMOCRACY AT STAKE IN THE 2024 ELECTION?

"Ranked choice voting is the hot reform," said Larry Jacobs, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota. "It's being driven by deep, almost existential panic about the demise of American democracy. People are looking around what's going to respond to this. And ranked choice voting is the 'it' reform at this moment."