92% turnout decline in Georgia runoff shows need for ranked choice voting
This week’s runoff elections in Georgia saw an egregious decline in turnout. Six localities held runoff elections on Tuesday, and turnout declined by 92% from the general election. Ranked choice voting (RCV) would have allowed these runoffs to happen instantly back in November, preventing this dramatic drop-off.
Georgia, like many other jurisdictions across the country, holds runoff elections when no candidate secures a majority of votes. The top two candidates face off some time later; in this case, Tuesday’s runoffs came about a month after the general election. Turnout almost always declines between an initial election and the runoff, and Georgia’s runoffs this week were no exception.
It has been a long election year, and it is no surprise that Georgians did not want to show up for another election. Of the six localities that held runoff elections, the “highest” turnout (relative to the general election) was for the East Point City Council Ward B race. Yet even that runoff saw a 64% turnout decline. The Henry County Commissioner District 4 runoff saw the highest decline, at a whopping 95%.
It doesn’t have to be like this. Ranked choice voting is also known as “instant runoff voting” – voters indicate their backup choices on Election Day and if their first choice doesn’t have a chance to win, their vote simply counts for their next choice.
Millions of Americans, including some Georgians, are already using RCV. RCV has replaced runoff elections in municipalities across the country, including in New York City and a dozen cities in Utah. Military and overseas voters in Georgia already use ranked ballots to indicate their backup choices in the event of a runoff.
This reform also makes financial sense. Researchers at Kennesaw State University estimated that Georgia’s 2020 U.S. Senate runoff cost taxpayers $75 million. That cost would be eliminated with RCV – and the money could be put to better use or returned to Georgians through a tax cut.
RCV is a better, faster, cheaper way to hold runoff elections and reduce voter exhaustion. Voters only have to show up once, and elections are decided when turnout is naturally the highest.
To support RCV in Georgia, visit Better Ballot Georgia.
