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Ranked Choice Voting: An Illusion of Choice

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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.

Audit the Vote Hawaii
Sep 7, 2023
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Ranked Choice Voting: An Illusion of Choice

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What is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)?

RCV is a complex election process where voters can rank multiple candidates for a single race.

Audit the Vote Hawaii Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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:

  1. If they ranked other candidates, their next-ranked candidate is moved up to get their first-place vote.

  2. 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

Audit the Vote Hawaii Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

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Ranked Choice Voting: An Illusion of Choice

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