In the November 2022 U.S. Senate election in Georgia, no candidate won more than 50% of the vote, sending the state into yet another runoff election. Georgia is one of the only states that still holds runoff elections: it is taking a toll on voters. They are tired. Every single Georgia runoff in the last three decades has had lower turnout than the initial election. This year was no different. With a shorter period between the general and runoff election, voters waited in long lines for early voting, scrambled to get their absentee ballots in on time, and ran to make the final push to the polls on election day. Despite national coverage and millions of dollars invested in getting out the vote, turnout nonetheless dropped 10%. Ranked choice voting (RCV) has the potential to solve the voter fatigue problem. 

While 400,000 voters were unrepresented in the runoff, they still bore the cost of running an election in the 3,000 voting precincts in Georgia. Between training poll workers, paying poll workers, preparing voting equipment, and more, the 2020 runoff election cost the state of Georgia $75 million.

Candidates are tired too. The cost of advertising over the four weeks before the runoff supporting Senator Raphael Warnock and Herschel Walker amounted to $81 million, $25 million more than what was spent before the runoff. Thus, runoff elections actually cost more than the general election campaign.

To add insult to injury, the $81 million of advertising was more focused on attacking the opponent. People were bombarded with negative ads tying Warnock’s support of President Biden to the administration’s failures and focusing on Walker’s unfitness for office. Negative campaigning takes a toll on the American electorate and makes engaging in democracy unpleasant. As Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said, “No one wants to be dealing with politics in the middle of their family holiday.” It is time to end high-cost, high-tension runoff elections that cause voter fatigue.

Elected officials in Georgia are encouraging an evaluation of the election system. For example, Georgia representative Wes Cantrell supports eliminating runoff elections by instituting RCV for all Georgians. RCV could help solve the problems with runoff elections – voter fatigue, costs to taxpayers and candidates, and negative campaigning. 

RCV simulates a runoff election instantly (hence its other name: “instant runoff voting”). If the first round of tallying does not yield a candidate with more than 50% of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and that candidate’s votes are reallocated to the voters’ second choice. This process continues until a candidate receives the majority vote. Voters no longer have to return to the polls for a second time, nor do they have to fund another election under RCV. Candidates also save money on advertising – lowering the cost of running and barriers to entry. 

What’s more is that RCV encourages positive campaigning. To win, candidates must secure a wider range of support. They can’t bank on winning with just a tiny base of supporters. They must remain favorable enough to receive high rankings from more voters. Alienating groups of voters is unfavorable. After Santa Fe’s first use of RCV in 2018, 67% of poll respondents believed the tone of the mayoral election was more positive. In addition, candidates who support (or at least do not speak negatively about) their opponents have a better chance of becoming voters’ second and third choices. Furthermore, media coverage in RCV cities was 85% more positive than negative compared to only 77% more positive in non-RCV cities, according to a 2013 analysis. 

Cities and states all around the country are realizing the benefits of RCV. In 2022, 7 cities and 1 state voted to adopt RCV. 62 jurisdictions in the U.S. have adopted and use RCV. Georgia already implemented RCV for military and overseas voters. It’s time to extend it to the whole state. RCV alleviates the voter fatigue that comes with the extra costs of runoff elections and returning to the polls exacerbated by negative campaigning. Under RCV, elections may no longer be viewed as a tiring and draining requirement, but a celebrated and exciting democratic process.

Image from Pixabay under the Creative Commons Zero (CC0) license.