Academic Support for Ranked Choice Voting

Rachel Hutchinson | 

We know that ranked choice voting (RCV), a voting system that improves fairness in elections by allowing voters to rank candidates in order of preference, is largely supported by those who use it in real elections. But how about those who study it? 

RCV is widely researched and has been found to improve representation and campaign civility. Indeed, RCV has great support from the academic community. For example:

  • One survey of political science experts showed 78% support for RCV. 
  • The Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship, largely composed of academics, produced a report that uplifted RCV for federal elections.
  • The Delegates of the Democracy Constitution, a group of leading scholars who evaluated the changes they would like to see in the Constitution, elevated RCV in their proposed changes. 
  • The Constitution Center also conducted a Constitution drafting project. Leading scholars broke into ideological groupings, and both groups’ drafts incorporated RCV. 
  • Academics have also embraced other types of election reform. More than 200 political scientists wrote an open letter to Congress in support of proportional representation.

FairVote also assembled a long list of academics who endorse RCV, shown below. As RCV spreads across the U.S., and as scholars continue to monitor its effects, RCV touts a plethora of support from voters and academics alike. 

ACADEMIC ENDORSERS OF RCV

NOBEL PRIZE LAUREATES IN ECONOMIC SCIENCE

  • Peter Diamond, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2010) 
  • Angus Deaton, Princeton University (2015)
  • Oliver Hart, Harvard University (2016)
  • Eric Maskin, Harvard University (2007)
  • Roger Myerson, University of Chicago (2007)
  • William Nordhaus, Yale University (2018)
  • Edmund Phelps, Columbia University (2006)
  • Alvin Roth, Stanford University (2012)
  • Thomas Sargent, New York University (2011)
  • Robert Shiller, Yale University (2013)

JOHAN SKYTTE PRIZE WINNERS (“THE NOBEL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE”)

  • Robert Axelrod, University of Michigan (2013)
  • Francis Fukuyama, Stanford (2015)
  • Peter Joachim Katzenstein, Cornell University (2020)
  • Robert Keohane, Princeton University (2005)
  • Arend Lijphart, University of California at San Diego (1997)
  • Jane Mansbridge, Harvard University (2018)
  • Robert Putnam, Harvard University (2006)
  • Philippe Schmitter, European University Institute (2009)
  • Rein Taagepera, University of California at Irvine (2008)

SCHOLARS OF DEMOCRACY, ELECTIONS AND MATHEMATICS

  • Alan Abramowitz, Emory University
  • Danielle Allen, Harvard University 
  • Nikolas Bowie, Harvard Law School
  • Shaun Bowler, University of California at Riverside
  • Charles Bullock, University of Georgia
  • Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin
  • John Carey, Dartmouth College
  • Rachael Cobb, Suffolk University
  • Michael Crespin, University of Oklahoma
  • Larry Diamond, Stanford University 
  • Todd Donovan, Western Washington University
  • Joshua Douglas, University of Kentucky College of Law
  • David Farrell, University College Dublin 
  • Caroline Frederickson, Georgetown Law School, 2020 distinguished visitor
  • Keith Gaddie, University of Oklahoma 
  • William Galston, Brookings Institution
  • Nicholas Goedert, Lafayette College 
  • Paul Gronke, Reed College and 2020 Andrew Carnegie Fellow 
  • Bob Holmes, Clark Atlanta University (emeritus)
  • Mark Jones, Rice University
  • Pam Karlan, Stanford Law School 
  • Phil Keisling, former Oregon Secretary of State and  former director of Center for Public Service at Portland State University
  • Alex Keyssar, Harvard University
  • David Kimball, University of Missouri at St. Louis
  • Douglas Kriner, Cornell University
  • Didi Kuo, Stanford University
  • Michael Latner, California Polytechnic State University
  • Lawrence Lessig, Harvard Law School
  • Justin Levitt, Loyola Law School 
  • David Lublin, American University
  • Sandy Maisel, Colby College
  • Alan Butler Morrison, The George Washington Law School
  • Steven Mulroy, University of Memphis Law School
  • Jack Nagel, University of Pennsylvania (emeritus)
  • Michael Porter, Harvard University 
  • G. Bingham Powell, University of Rochester and former president of the American Political Science Association
  • Miles Rapoport, Harvard University and former Connecticut Secretary of State
  • Ronald Rapoport, College of William and Mary (emeritus)
  • John Rapp, Beloit College (emeritus)
  • Benjamin Reilly, University of Western Australia 
  • Andrew Reynolds, Princeton University
  • Jonathan Rodden, Stanford University
  • Mark Rush, Washington and Lee University
  • Matthew Shugart, University of California at Davis (emeritus)
  • Nicholas Stephanopoulos, Harvard Law School 
  • James Thurber, American University
  • Caroline Tolbert, University of Iowa 
  • Franita Tolson, University of Southern California Law School
  • Ismar Volić, Wellesley College 
  • Sam Wang, Princeton University
  • Tova Wang, Harvard University