Rank Choice Voting Rank Choice Voting should be implimented at NFHS and in local elections

by Carly Jacobson

Political parties have become increasingly polarized in the last 10 years. Between the rise of the internet and pressing issues, Americans have become increasingly divided. Citizens are losing shared national identity due to the extreme nature of the Democratic and Republican parties. Ranked Choice or Instant Runoff Voting (RCV) is one solution to this problem.

Voters rank candidates in order of preference– first, second, third, and so on. For example, in this system, a vote is not “lost” if your first choice is unpopular because your second choice can count.

Candidates in this system are forced to become the best option for the majority of voters, rather than the “less worse” option. For instance, in 2020, #settleforbiden was trending on TikTok and Instagram in an attempt to unite progressive voters to vote for Joe Biden for president as opposed to a third party. The reason? To avoid splitting less conservative votes to enable one progressive/liberal candidate to win against Donald Trump. Republicans also had a similar tactic.

Democracy fails when voters stop voting for the candidate they see fit for the job and start voting to prevent another candidate from winning the election.

In this system, smaller parties such as the Libertarian party and the Green party get more support, because voters feel they aren’t wasting their vote.

Major parties are then forced to become more moderate and pledge to do what is best for the general public, actually competing with all parties rather than their polar opposite.

Unfortunately, lack of voter education is an issue when it comes to all types of voting, especially when it comes to RCV. However, the benefits of RCV are much greater than traditional voting.

A solution to the lack of knowledge is to educate those entering the system. High schools and colleges can use this process for student elections to teach future young voters how to vote in this system.

According to Ranked Choice NY, over 90 colleges and universities in the United States currently use RCV for their student government elections. While this number is small, it is increasing.

Fair Vote reported in 2020 that 75 schools used RCV in student elections. In two years, at least 15 colleges have passed laws to use RCV. For example, James Madison University’s student government passed a resolution in April of 2020 implementing RCV in all future elections.

This system can be easily modeled in student council elections at Nation Ford. This system would increase democracy, creating a more fair system for school officers as well as preparing students for the future.

In South Carolina municipalities can implement the process, yet none have done so. NFHS should implement RCV in student council elections to educate young voters how to vote in this system and lead the way for change in Fort Mill.