WASHINGTON — A new way of electing public officials, ranked choice voting, is gaining a foothold around the country. Advocates of making Wisconsin the latest state to adopt it say it would counter the increase in political partisanship that often prevents lawmakers from getting things done.
“These divisions are creating gridlock, and they are impeding progress for this country and the state,” State Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, said in December.
Under the system proposed for Wisconsin, voters would rank their top five choices in U.S. Senate and House elections. If no one wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and every voter who had that candidate as their first choice, would have their vote go to their second choice. The process continues until one candidate wins a majority. Proponents said this would encourage candidates to appeal to a wider group of voters, encouraging moderation and compromise.
“Having that incentive to try to branch out and try to not just focus on your base, but also focus on everybody else that you represent, will just make us all better representatives, no matter where we live,” State Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said in December.
Alaska and Maine have adopted ranked choice voting for House and Senate elections. Dozens of jurisdictions, including New York City, are using it for local races. But some states where Republicans control the Legislature and the Governor’s office, like Florida, have banned ranked choice voting. And opponents of the measure in Wisconsin have proposed a constitutional amendment to ban it too.
“Ranked choice voting doesn't have an obvious partisan advantage in places where it's been implemented. It hasn't helped the Democrats or the Republicans in any consistent fashion,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “But it's become sort of a folk wisdom in Republican circles that ranked choice voting is a plan by Democrats to help them do better in elections and to hurt Republicans. I don't know where that has come from exactly.”
Congressman Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, said he’s not sure he buys the arguments of those who support ranked choice voting.
“But ultimately, I'll run for re-election under the laws of the state of Wisconsin,” he said. "And it's a state assembly and state senate decision at this point."
The legislative session in Wisconsin is expected to end in March, and it remains to be seen how far the proposal will go before time runs out.