Louisiana runoffs have low turnout and high costs. Ranked choice voting can help.
On Saturday, April 27, several Louisiana cities and parishes held delayed runoffs for local elections. Louisiana could save time and money – and increase voter participation – by using ranked choice voting (RCV) instead of runoffs.
Runoff elections almost always see a drop in turnout, averaging about 40% in federal elections. The decline is often so dramatic that many candidates win their runoff with fewer votes than they earned in the first round – as was the case with Louisiana’s Attorney General and Treasurer elections in 2023. RCV works like an “instant runoff,” identifying a majority winner in just one election.
On Saturday, turnout for the Jefferson Parish district judge runoff dropped by 18% from the initial contest held five weeks ago on March 23. The delayed runoff saw 4,181 fewer votes cast, and the winning margin was just 1,783 votes. In other words, the turnout decline was far larger than the winning margin; the preferences of the thousands of voters who didn’t return to the polls could have led to a different candidate winning the election.
In Monroe, the 5th City Council District election in March saw Kema Dawson lead the field with 700 votes (just 43%), requiring a delayed runoff. In the runoff, Dawson’s opponent won with only 660 votes, fewer than Dawson received in the initial election. If Louisiana used RCV, it would not be possible for a candidate to win with fewer votes (and defeat a runoff’s purpose of finding a broadly supported, majority winner).
This year’s elections are just the latest example of the drawbacks of Louisiana’s delayed runoff system – which falls short of its commendable goal of majority rule.
Ranked choice voting is a faster, cheaper, and better alternative. Voters rank the candidates in order of preference; if their first choice can’t win, their vote counts for their highest-ranked choice who stands a chance. This is just like a delayed runoff, where voters get to weigh in between the top two finalists even if their initial choice didn’t advance. But with RCV, voters don’t have to return to the polls weeks or months later – and election officials don’t have to run a second election.
In addition to saving voters’ time, RCV would also save millions of dollars in taxpayer money. Recent statewide runoffs cost Louisiana over $5 million each – nearly doubling the cost of the elections! With RCV, that money could be invested in other priorities like education or public safety.
Louisiana already allows military and overseas voters to vote with RCV ballots in case certain races go to a runoff. This spares them from having to deal with mail ballots twice in five weeks.
Yet, right now, Louisiana’s legislature is considering “banning” RCV (of course, without touching its use by military voters – the only Bayou State voters who actually get to use it). Instead of pursuing a largely performative prohibition, it’s time for Louisiana to extend the courtesy of ranked choice voting to all voters.
