Ranked-choice voting discussion set for Oct. 16 in Blacksburg
A community forum will focus on ranked-choice voting as a way to reduce political division in voters' choice for their elected leaders.
The League of Women Voters of Montgomery County together with Virginia Tech's Lifelong Learning Institute (LLI) and the Montgomery County-Radford-Floyd County NAACP will sponsor the event Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., in Blacksburg Town Council Chambers.
Two voting experts will explore the option of ranked-choice voting, which is now used in several states and localities to encourage more collegial campaigning.
The event is free and open to the public.
At the October forum, Liz White, executive director of the democracy reform organization UpVote Virginia, will explain ranked-choice voting and describe its uses and outcomes so far in Virginia and beyond. UpVote Virginia promotes this method of voting as a way to improve the electoral system's structure and to better reflect the will of voters.
Virginia Tech Associate Professor Caitlin Jewitt, who studies elections, will analyze the way ranked-choice voting affects voting outcomes, the character of campaigns, and the democratic system of governance.
With ranked-choice voting (RCV), voters rank their preferences among the candidates rather than voting for just one candidate. If no one receives a majority on the first round, votes for candidates who got the fewest votes are redistributed to the top-ranking candidates until someone receives a majority. A vote will count by going to a second choice even if a first-choice candidate does not win.
Proponents say that the system gives voters more voice and that campaigns become less polarizing as candidates compete for second-choice votes as well as first choices. Cons to the system include that it's too complicated, can be more expensive and creates the situation that a candidate with the most votes can lose.
Is RCV a good idea for Virginia—at the local, state, or national levels? Come listen to two experts and then share thoughts.
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