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2020 Massachusetts Question 2

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Massachusetts Question 2 (2020)
Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement Ranked-Choice Voting in Elections
OutcomeTBD

Massachusetts Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, also known as Question 2, is a planned initiative that has qualified for the 2020 Massachusetts general election ballot. The measure would change primaries and elections in Massachusetts from plurality voting to ranked-choice voting (RCV) for all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices beginning in 2022. RCV would not be extended to elections for president, county commissioner, or regional district school committee member. If passed, Massachusetts would be become the second state to adopt ranked-choice voting for state and federal offices, following Maine's passage of Question 5 in 2016 and subsequent passage of Question 1 in June 2018. Other initiatives to enact ranked choice voting in 2020 include the Alaska Ballot Measure 2.[1]

Summary

Main article: Ranked-choice voting in the United States
Example of a hypothetical ranked choice election

Ranked choice voting is a voting system where voters can rank multiple candidates in order of their preference and is used to ensure election of a candidate with majority support. People supporting lower performing candidates as their first preference can redistribute their vote to more viable candidates, avoiding the problems of vote splitting and spoiler candidates. Ranked choice voting is used in elections in Maine (since 2018; adopted 2016)[2], the Australian House of Representatives (since 1918)[3], for the Irish President (since 1938)[4], and in numerous cities across the United States.[5]

Voting Process

In ranked choice voting, ballots are completed by giving candidates a number ranking in order of voter preference, starting with a voter's first choice. Voters are able to rank as many candidates as they desire and to include write-in candidates on their ballots. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, then the ballot works as an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and that candidate's votes are redistributed to their supporters’ second choices. If no candidate has a majority after that round, then the process continues until a candidate with majority support is found.[6]

Endorsements

Voter Choice Massachusetts is the lead sponsor of the Yes on 2 campaign. In addition, it has the formal endorsements of the Democratic Party of Massachusetts, the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, the Green-Rainbow Party, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, RepresentUs, and many other organizations.[7][8]

In a September 2020 editorial for the Boston Globe, Senator Elizabeth Warren endorsed ranked choice voting, arguing, "By requiring the winner to reach more than 50 percent of the vote, ranked-choice voting ensures the winning candidate is the one with the broadest appeal to the majority of voters. The ability to mobilize the broadest and deepest appeal across the electorate would replace the ability to target a passionate minority constituency, which may be extreme or nonrepresentative from the standpoint of most voters as the key to winning."[9]

Question 2 Endorsements
Political Parties
Senators


Representatives
State Officials

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered 		Sample
size[a] 		Cohort Margin
of error 		Yes (for the initiative) No (against the initiative) Undecided Other
MassInc./WBUR August 6–9, 2020 501 (LV) All ± 4.4% 36% 36% 27% 1%[b]
323 (LV) Respondents who say they understand RCV
very well or somewhat well 		± 5.6% 48% 35% 15% 2%[c]
161 (LV) Respondents who say they do not understand RCV
very well or do not understand it at all 		± 7.9% 14% 38% 48% 0%

Notes

  1. ^ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. ^ "Refused" with 1%
  3. ^ "Refused" with 2%

See also

References

  1. ^ "On election-reform Ballot Measure 2, backers and opponents don't follow party lines". Anchorage Daily News. 2020-09-10. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  2. ^ "Ranked Choice Voting in Maine | Maine State Legislature". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  3. ^ corporateName=Australian Electoral Commission; address=50 Marcus Clarke Street, Canberra ACT 2600; contact=13 23 26. "A short history of federal electoral reform in Australia". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 2020-09-16.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ "Dail Elections since 1918". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  5. ^ FairVote. FairVote https://www.fairvote.org/rcv#where_is_ranked_choice_voting_used. Retrieved 2020-09-29. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ "New York City Voters Just Adopted Ranked-Choice Voting in Elections". Time. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  7. ^ "Massachusetts Question 2, Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2020-09-13.
  8. ^ "Who Supports YES ON 2?". Yes on 2 Ranked Choice Voting. Ranked Choice Voting 2020 Committee. Retrieved 2020-09-29.
  9. ^ Warren, Elizabeth; Raskin, Jamie (2020-09-18). "Ranked-choice voting is a better way to vote - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

Further reading

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