Majority support ranked choice voting and more voter choice in states with 2024 election reform ballot measures

Deb Otis | 

In November 2024, several states and cities voted on ballot measures to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV), open/nonpartisan primaries, or a combination of both. Nearly 4 million voters cast ballots to bring RCV to their city or state. RCV also won majority support in every city where it was on the ballot, but most of the state ballot measures were defeated. 

A newly released YouGov poll sampling 1,000 voters provides insight on voters across these states (Colorado, South Dakota, Arizona, Montana, Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, DC). Among these states, South Dakota, Arizona, and Montana did not vote on ranked choice voting. Key findings include:

  • A majority of voters with an opinion on the reforms support RCV, open primaries, and nonpartisan primaries.
  • Support for RCV is highest among young voters, with 71% support among voters under 40, and majority support among voters ages 40 to 64. This aligns with previous findings showing RCV is most popular with young voters. 
  • Support for RCV is higher among voters of color, with 62% support among Black voters and 61% support among Hispanic voters. 
  • 58% say they would like more candidates to choose from in general elections, showing an appetite for election reform that would facilitate a wider range of choices. 
  • 88% say it is important for candidates to win elections with a majority, showing an appetite for election reform that requires majority winners. 
  • 40% of voters who report voting no on the ballot measures say they support at least one of the policies contained in their state’s ballot measure.
  • A majority of voters who saw radio ads, social media ads, and campaign signs supporting the ballot measures report voting yes on their state’s ballot measure. This is not true for TV ads.

RCV, nonpartisan primaries, and open primaries are popular 

Voters in this poll express support for all three reforms that were surveyed. 

Among voters with an opinion on the reforms, 55% say they support ranked choice voting and 64% say they support nonpartisan primaries – preliminary elections in which candidates of all parties run on the same ballot. The finding of majority support for RCV among voters who have not yet used the reform is notable. Voters appear to understand and like the reform even more once they get to use it – as evidenced by recent polls in Utah, Oregon, California, Maine, and elsewhere. 

Open primaries, which allow voters to participate in a party primary regardless of their party affiliation, poll higher than the other two reforms – with 78% in favor. Most states have at least some open primary elections. 

Younger voters demonstrate much higher levels of support for RCV, aligned with findings from several previous polls. 71% of voters under 40 say they support RCV, while 53% of voters from ages 40 to 64 support it. Support falls to 34% among voters 65 and older.

RCV also has majority support among Black, Hispanic, and White voters, with higher support among Black and Hispanic voters. The survey also included voters who identified as Asian, Middle Eastern, or mixed race, but there are too few respondents to draw conclusions.

Voters want more choices and majority winners, showing a need for election reform 

While reform measures were defeated in most of the states polled, surveyed voters express interest in greater choice, majority winners, and reduced partisanship in elections – changes that RCV and other election reforms could help deliver.

Most notably for RCV supporters, 88% of voters say it is “important… that the winning candidate in an election has a majority of the votes cast,” and 58% say they would like more than “two major candidates in the general election to choose from.” 

Currently, any election with more than two candidates is subject to the “spoiler” problem, vote-splitting among ideologically or demographically similar candidates, and fear of wasting a vote on a low-performing candidate. Ranked choice voting solves these problems – more candidates can run, voters get more choices, and candidates need a majority to win. 

This poll finding is aligned with a recent national poll from Citizen Data showing that nearly half of voters feel they voted for the lesser of two evils in at least one election on their ballot in 2024. Younger voters are most likely to say they voted for the lesser of two evils in 2024. 

Disconnect between support for policies and ballot measure votes 

In the coming months, reform advocates and researchers might consider the disconnect between voter attitudes – including majority support for specific election reforms as well as greater choice and majority winners on the ballot – and the way most states voted on concrete ballot measures advancing these reforms in November 2024. One interesting question might regard “majority rule”: Many American voters may assume that our elections require majority winners now, when the vast majority of elections do not. 

Among voters who report voting against the ballot measure in their state, only 60% say they are opposed to both RCV and nonpartisan primaries. 18% said they support both RCV and nonpartisan primaries but still voted no. Another 23% support RCV or nonpartisan primaries but not both. 

Support bothSupport neitherSupport one reform only
Voted yes74%8%19%
Voted no18%60%23%

A detailed memo with additional poll questions – including questions on voter attitudes about reducing partisanship and whether voters saw campaign messaging – is available here. 

Poll methodology 

YouGov interviewed 1103 respondents, who were then matched down to a sample of 1000 to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a politically representative sampling frame on gender, age, race, and education. The survey included registered voters in the following states: AK, AZ, CO, DC, ID, MT, NV, OR, and SD. 

The survey was conducted from November 13-22, 2024. It was funded by the University of Iowa.

Download the poll memo here.