Abstract
Dissatisfaction with two-party politics is at an all-time high in the US. As extreme polarization and minority rule persist, a possibility of an electoral reform becomes increasingly more likely. This editor’s introduction discusses the ranked choice voting (RCV) as an alternative to the current single-member geographic districts with winner-take-all plurality elections in the US. The articles for this thematic issue critically evaluate whether RCV lives up to its promise in improving democracy in the US. Like any rule or institutional change, it has benefits and drawbacks. The empirical and historical research presented here focuses on the implementation and use of RCV in the US compared to other countries. This thematic issue offers new insights into the promise and perils of RCV as a way to aggregate votes in elections that ensure that the winning candidate receives a majority of the votes cast.
Highlights
Dissatisfaction with two‐party politics is at an all‐time high in the US
Today 4 in 10 Americans do not identify with either of two parties, labeling themselves political independents (Gallup, 2021; scholars find that many independents lean toward one of the two parties and in two‐party elections vote like partisans; see Keith, Magleby, Nelson, Orr, & Westlye, 1992; Klar & Krupnikov, 2016)
Because campaigns are more likely to mobilize voters who are registered with the parties (Hersh, 2015), political independents in plurality election systems are less likely to be contacted or to vote in elec‐
Summary
Dissatisfaction with two‐party politics is at an all‐time high in the US. A 2021 Gallup poll reports 62% of Americans believe the Democratic and Republican par‐ ties are doing such a poor job of representing their con‐ stituents and that a third party is needed (Jones, 2021). The predominance of just two major political parties in the US is the result of election rules—single‐member geographic districts with winner‐take‐all plurality elec‐ tions This means the candidate with the most votes in a district wins public office, even if that individual wins less than a majority (50%+1) of the votes cast. Electoral reform is possible if a majority of elected officials believe they will bene‐ fit under a new system (Boix, 1999; Drutman, 2020) or if reform is adopted directly by voters via an initiative or referendum (Bowler & Donovan, 2000) The latter is Politics and Governance, 2021, Volume 9, Issue 2, Pages 265–270 how ranked choice voting (RCV) was adopted statewide in Maine and Alaska. The only way to de‐escalate politics is to split up the two major parties and introduce more central parties to American politics, parties that can fill in the ideological vacuum in the middle of the political spectrum
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