Florida’s Voting Reform Is A Step In The Wrong Direction

Ranked choice voting is a smart, innovative and modern way to strengthen democracy. 

Under this method, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate earns a majority, the one with the least votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed until a candidate wins a majority.

In the United States, the dominant voting method is the first-past-the-post system, which decides the winning candidate based on who gets the most votes. 

This outdated system makes it almost impossible for third parties and independents to penetrate the two dominating parties—Democratic and Republican.

Ranked choice voting would fix this by letting voters pick a third-party candidate first and then a major-party candidate if needed, resulting in a winner with wider support.

Implementing this method would allow political movements like the Libertarian, Reform and  Forward Parties to have a shot at politics. 

Similar proportional representation electoral systems would go a step further by ensuring all political viewpoints are heard, which is something that doesn’t happen in the current winner-takes-all system.

According to the World Population Review, 81 countries and the European Parliament of the European Union use proportional representation—which ensures political parties are represented in equivalence to their electoral results. 

Despite that, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis placed a ban on ranked choice voting in the state by passing bill SB524. 

Florida and Tennessee are the only two states to ban ranked choice voting, despite a 2007 referendum in Sarasota, a city south of Tampa, having a 77.6% approval to switch to this method.

It’s clear governor DeSantis’ move was done to secure Republican control in Florida. His move directly contradicts his claim of promoting electoral freedom in the “free state of Florida.”

But this is not just a Republican issue. Many establishment Democrats have also voiced opposition to ranked voting because it can disrupt their election victories.

While states like Maine and Alaska have gone in the right direction by implementing ranked choice voting in all elections, that is still not enough. 

The United States needs to examine ways to improve its democratic processes. Otherwise, millions of voices will continue to be ignored. 

Rank My Vote Florida is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to implementing ranked choice voting in Florida. You can get involved by visiting rankmyvoteflorida.org.