When voters actually sit down and talk to each other about electoral reform, their support for ranked choice voting (RCV) and proportional representation (PR) increases substantially. That was the finding of a recent deliberative poll released by Stanford University’s Deliberative Democracy Lab earlier this month.

As Stanford Professor Larry Diamond wrote, “After deliberating, majorities of our sample consistently supported the use of RCV for all kinds of elections — local, state, and national, and in both primaries and general elections.” For instance, 59% supported the use of RCV for state primary elections and 57% supported it for state general elections. 

Strong, bipartisan support for RCV is nothing new. However, this result is especially significant because deliberative polls seek to test not just what voters think based on first impressions, preconceived notions, or soundbites. Instead, they test what voters think about the issues after they’ve had the time and space to learn about and discuss them. 

Deliberative polls gather a random sample of participants, present them with carefully balanced informational materials, and then assign them to small groups – where participants engage in a moderated discussion with each other. Those groups develop questions that are presented to competing experts; then, the groups discuss the responses they receive. After the process is complete, voters are asked the same questions again to determine how their views have changed.

The pro-RCV majorities in the deliberative poll emerged as a result of strong surges of support among Republicans and independents, in particular: With these groups, support for RCV went up by an average of 11 percentage points across election types. While Republicans were generally more skeptical than Democrats, after the discussions, nearly half said they supported using RCV in some elections (such as local elections).

Stanford Professor James Fishkin, who conducted the poll along with Professor Diamond and Professor Alice Siu, told FairVote: “This project shows that deliberation can overcome extreme partisan divisions about the democratic process. Republicans, Democrats, and independents all moved much closer together after they discussed the issues with each other and began to listen to shared concerns.”

One of the most significant changes of opinion after deliberating was increased support for PR. Support for using a PR system to elect state legislatures increased even further by 16 percentage points to 46% (with only 22% opposed). Support for using a PR system to elect Congress jumped by 13 percentage points to 43% (with only 25% opposed). In fact, after deliberation, only 39% of participants said they favored keeping our current system of electing representatives in single-member districts.

Taken together, these results make for a clear takeaway: When the facts are all on the table, Americans find that RCV and PR are common-sense reforms that will improve our elections.