Why Ranked choice voting?
the spoiler effect
Ranked-choice voting helps to address the issue of vote splitting and the "spoiler effect." In traditional plurality voting systems, candidates with similar views can split the votes of like-minded voters, potentially leading to the election of a candidate who is not preferred by the majority. With RCV, voters can rank their preferred candidate first without worrying about wasting their vote or inadvertently helping their least favorite candidate.
Civil Campaigns
RCV encourages candidates to appeal to a broader range of voters. Since candidates can benefit from being ranked as a second or third choice by voters, they are motivated to reach out to different constituencies, build coalitions, and engage in more positive campaigning. Negative campaigning may be less effective since candidates need to appeal to voters beyond their core base to secure second or third-choice rankings.
Expands voter choice
Ranked-choice voting encourages the participation of a wider array of candidates. Candidates who might not have been considered viable in a traditional system may choose to run because they have a chance of being ranked as a second or third choice by voters. This can lead to more diverse and representative candidate pools, allowing voters to select from a broader spectrum of ideologies and perspectives.