Ranked-choice voting suffers setback in Georgia legislative session

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) suffered a setback in Georgia this legislative session, with the Senate Ethics Committee passing SB355 — a bill that would ban RCV in Georgia.

RCV has been gaining traction around the country and online, with supporters saying it would allow more third-party candidates to be elected, greatly reduce runoffs, and lead to less partisanship and more officials elected on issues.

RCV generally works by having voters rank their candidates in an election — say, one through five, for instance — with the highest ranking being their first choice. If no candidate garners over 50 percent of the votes after one round, voting proceeds to the next round while the candidate with the least votes gets eliminated from the ballot. If this eliminated candidate was a voter’s top choice, their vote goes towards their next candidate selected — whoever they marked at number two. This process continues until a single candidate gets more than 50 percent of the votes.

It should be noted that not every RCV system works exactly as described, but it generally follows the same idea.

Proponents of the system, sometimes called instant runoff voting (IRV), say it just makes sense. The system has been implemented in select states and municipalities, from Alaska to Utah to New York. A survey of voters from from two Utah cities found “86% of respondents found RCV easy to use and 82.5% want RCV used in future elections”; moreover, another study found that New Yorkers widely understood how the system worked and took advantage of its flexibility, contrary to what many say is confusing.

Opposite of SB355 banning RCV is HB200, introduced in 2023, which would allow municipalities to opt-in to the use of RCV in their respective elections. Sponsors of the bill say RCV would have saved money, especially on the local level, where most runoffs occur and can be costly. The bill did not come to a vote during the legislative session.

Better Ballot Georgia Statewide Organizer Ben Rowley says the system gaining traction is likely what is prompting the bill to ban it in Georgia.

“We’ve seen much more organized opposition [to RCV] than we have in the past,” Rowley said. 

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is championing SB355, citing “the Left” advocating for the system that is “opening the door for voter confusion, political manipulation, and increased polarization.”

Rowley pointed out that the bill is much more of a symbolic gesture than it is anything of substance, as it doesn’t change the landscape for RCV in Georgia all that much — and still has a provision for military voters to use RCV, which the current law allows anyway.

“It doesn’t actually legally change very much if anything at all. It’s more of a messaging bill than anything,” Rowley said. “Evidently, it’s good enough for military voters, but apparently, it’s not good enough for everyday Georgians.”

Through his advocacy for the system, Rowley says he’s noted it is less of a partisan issue and that both sides of the political spectrum have been seen opposing it and supporting it. HB200 of 2023 had bipartisan support, for instance, even though SB355 is largely sponsored by Republicans. 

In Washington D.C., the Democratic Party filed a lawsuit to get RCV off the ballot just last year, citing confusion for Black and low-income voters over the new system, according to DCist. Ironically, arguments in favor of RCV helping people of color win elections have been made, too.

“It by no means is a purely partisan issue. States that do have [RCV] are like Alaska, a red state. Some are more purple states, like Maine. And we have two states voting on it this year, Nevada and Oregon,” Rowley said. “I would say it’s more entrenched power is threatened by it, as opposed to it being an ideological issue.”

Rowley acknowledged entrenched power — the establishment, if you will — has all the reason to oppose it because it gives voters more power and options for candidates. Still, Rowley and Better Ballot Georgia hope to continue championing the idea; Better Ballot Georgia lists three key arguments in favor of the system:

• IRV simplifies our voting system — saving voters time and taxpayers money.
• IRV amplifies voters’ voices — reducing runoff vote drop-off and giving voters more choices on the ballot.
• IRV reduces negative campaigning — if a candidate can’t be your first choice, they want to be your second.  

As for SB355, it passed in the Senate in late January; it now goes to the Government Affairs Committee in the House to possibly be put to a vote.

Edit: This article was updated to include the acronym (IRV) for instant-runoff voting, which is synonymous with RCV.