As the election grows ever closer many citizens are concerned with who they should vote for. Hashtags such as #votebluenomatterwho and #trump2020 trend often on platforms like Twitter; encouraging individuals to vote for a party rather than policy. While this may work for some individuals, it leaves many of us wondering if there’s another way. One solution to this is ranked-choice voting.

Ranked-choice voting works so that individuals are not more open to voting for who they actually want and not just out of fear that they are taking votes away from their party. Rather than selecting one candidate, you would rank all of the potential people on the ballot in order of who you like the most. The rankings would only come into play if no candidate received the majority vote. After that, the voter’s second choice would become their new first choice. Cara McCormick, the co-founder of the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting states “We’re always saying, you know if they don’t have the mint chocolate chip ice cream, can you please get me the rocky road? In terms of voting, it allows people to really express their full range of opinions and preferences about all of the candidates running.” You simply rank your top candidates and your vote is counted, the same or even more accurately than a typical voter.

This style of voting has already been implemented in Maine. They have already used this in the federal elections which resulted in the second choice winning because the individual who would have won did not receive the majority. After this success, Maine has decided to carry ranked-choice voting into the presidential election. This is the first time that a method other than the electoral college has had a say in any state, making this year’s election even more interesting.

It is the belief of some that ranked voting is the way of the future and will come to impact not only this year’s election but every election going forward.  Some hoping it spreads past Maine and is implemented in more states around America.  Do you think that a change in the voting system may be just what we as a country need, and this style of voting could be what brings change?