Ranked Choice Voting: An Illusion of Choice
Hawai'i already uses RCV for special elections, and the Office of Elections, several Democratic legislators, and leftist organizations want it implemented for ALL elections in Hawai'i.
What is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)?
RCV is a complex election process where voters can rank multiple candidates for a single race.
From StopRCV.com:
“In an RCV election, if one candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, it works like any other election (the rankings are irrelevant). If no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, then the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. Ballots that ranked the eliminated candidate first are “adjusted” in one of two ways:
If they ranked other candidates, their next-ranked candidate is moved up to get their first-place vote.
If they did not rank other candidates, their ballot is eliminated (as if they had not voted at all).
This process is repeated until one candidate has a majority of the remaining votes. It relies on precise data entry and well-programmed computers—with more than just a few ballots, the RCV process is entirely dependent on computers to run the multiple rounds of adjustments and retabulation.”
What are the issues with RCV?
RCV obliterates the “one person, one vote” concept
RCV requires extensive voter education
RCV opens up many more opportunities for a voter to make a mistake, which increases the chance that their vote (or votes) is not counted
RCV may result in “ballot exhaustion”, where, if a voter’s preferred candidate does not make it into the next round, it is as if they never cast a vote at all
RCV destroys election transparency-computers must be used for RCV, and there is absolutley ZERO transparency from the Office of Elections with regard to anything related to the election equipment
RCV will make it impossible to ever perform hand recounts or eliminate electronic voting equipment
RCV claims to increase turnout, whereas, in reality, it has been shown to decrease turnout, especially in minority communities
Seth Keshel explained RCV at the March 2023 Election Integrity event on O’ahu. You can watch it here.
Ranked Choice Voting is counter to many of the things we are fighting for in the Election Integrity movement: a return to hand counting at the precinctn level with no electronic voting equipment and software, and full transparency.
Elections need to be made simpler, not more complex.
Please join Audit the Vote Hawai’i and Phil Izon from Ranked Choice Education Association on September 13th in Honolulu to learn how you can help put a stop to RCV in Hawai’i. Register here: https://form.jotform.com/232197520892158
