Ranked choice voting in the news, 2023

Yates Wilburn | 

As we approach the end of another great year for ranked choice voting (RCV)  – and the beginning of what could be its best year yet – now is a perfect time to look back at some of the major media coverage we’ve seen for FairVote and RCV. RCV makes a big difference everywhere it’s implemented, and the press is taking notice.  

Outlets from sea to shining sea are talking about RCV

RCV and democracy reform are on the move, placed front and center in political reporting and opinion pieces of outlets across the country.

Media outlets from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and even the U.S. Virgin Islands published at least one piece mentioning RCV in 2023! They ran the gamut from national publications like the Washington Post to major state papers like South Carolina’s Post & Courier. RCV was also covered by countless local papers and TV stations. 

Polling of the Republican presidential primary by FairVote and WPA Intelligence was discussed on Real Time with Bill Maher, in Reason, and by political analysts of all stripes.

RCV elections and ballot initiatives were big news this year

In 2023, 24 cities and counties used RCV in their elections – two of them using it for the first time to elect their mayors . On top of that, seven cities across five states voted in favor of RCV at the ballot box, meaning that RCV has won 27 city ballot measures in a row. Countless media outlets – both large and small – took notice. 

NPR, USA Today, the Associated Press, the Washington Post, and many other national outlets offered extensive coverage of RCV in practice. Additionally, an op-ed from FairVote’s own Deb Otis and Ashley Houghton was re-published in local news outlets from Georgia to Washington State. 

Endorsements from across the political spectrum and across the country

Republicans and Democrats, liberals and conservatives – politicians, academics, and commentators from across the political spectrum stepped forward to endorse RCV. Editorial writers from across the country likewise endorsed RCV in their communities. 

This is just a tiny sample of the amazing support RCV has received this year. Despite their differences, all of these leaders share a desire to improve our elections and believe RCV is the way to do it.

Great reads for the holidays

With many of us taking time off for the holidays, there’s an opportunity to catch up on some of the longer-form pieces that ran this year. Here are some great options for your holiday break:

  • Hot off the presses, the Washington Post just identified both ranked choice voting and proportional representation with multi-member districts (the combination of reforms included in the Fair Representation Act) as possible solutions to cracks in American democracy. 
  • FairVote Director of Policy and Research Deb Otis answered “Should RCV continue to expand?” on Ballotpedia’s On the Ballot podcast.
  • FairVote Board Chair Dr. Danielle Allen spoke to PBS NewsHour about Americans’ growing dissatisfaction with how our government works, and her ideas about how we can fix it.
  • FairVote Senior Fellow David Daley wrote in The Guardian about the chaos surrounding Kevin McCarthy’s removal as speaker of the House, and how the flaws in our elections feed into that chaos.
  • The story of an all-female, all-under-40 city council – elected using ranked choice voting – in St. Paul, MN.

And if you’re still itching for more content, check out FairVote’s most popular blog posts of the year!