Hey there, Twitter: time for #RankedChoiceVoting polls

Social media is always in a state of flux. New features are added; new algorithms take effect; new CEO’s are hired. The list goes on and on.

Yet one problem stays consistent: the broken state of social media polls. Many platforms only offer flawed, single-choice polls that fail to capture what users really want… even though there’s an oven-ready solution called ranked choice voting waiting in the wings.

Consider Twitter CEO Elon Musk’s recent poll about how the platform should deal with accounts who post celebrities’ locations in real time. After none of the four choices received support from a majority of voters, Musk concluded he had given voters “too many options” and pledged to redo the poll.

We disagree with @elonmusk on this. “Too many options” isn’t the problem. The problem is limiting voters to just one choice, denying them the freedom to express their preferences between all the options.

If Twitter used #RankedChoiceVoting polls, a consensus pick could have been determined within milliseconds of the poll closing. There would be no need to manually remove options and make users come back to vote on the same question twice in a row.

Twitter isn’t the only platform that needs better choices in its polls. Instagram, Facebook, and any other sites that ask users to vote in polls should open up the option to rank.

The software for RCV polls is super easy to make, and many online apps with far less capacity than Twitter already offer it! Think RankIt.vote, OpaVote, and RankedVote just to name a few.

The best part is that ranked choice voting is already proving its value in elections all across the nation with much higher stakes! In New York City’s first RCV elections, voters picked their most diverse and representative city government ever. In Alaska, RCV voters looked past party lines to elect a staunch conservative Governor, moderate Republican Senator, and moderate Democratic Representative all at the same time. Utah officials love it because it saves time and money by eliminating the need for multiple rounds of elections (like the repeat poll Elon Musk had to create).

The benefits are clear. The technology is ready. The voters are ready.

Twitter, it’s time for #RankedChoiceVoting polls.