Posted by Robert Blackmon 45pc on May 22, 2017
In spite of the assault on our democracy and all the crises that go with it – there’s a quiet revolution taking place. It’s been winning campaigns across the country and is now poised to explode with your help.
That revolution is Ranked Choice Voting, a critical reform that unleashes the power of our values to give meaning to our votes. Ranked Choice Voting has been gathering steam across the nation, as the American people demand a voting system that moves us forward, instead of paralyzing us with fear.
Here’s how Ranked Choice Voting works. Instead of voting for one person, you can rank your choices. If your first choice doesn’t win (and no candidate has won a majority right out of the starting gate), your vote is automatically re-assigned to your second choice. That way, your vote is never “wasted” or “thrown away”. And you can’t inadvertently help the candidate you like the least by voting for the candidate you like the most. More about it here.
The movement for Ranked Choice Voting has just taken a great leap forward. Last November, Maine became the first state to enact it statewide. Benton County, Oregon became the first county. Cities like San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley, Minneapolis, St. Paul, and Cambridge, Massachusetts have been using RCV successfully for years.
We can build upon this progress by making Massachusetts the next Ranked Choice Voting state. Allies there are already working tirelessly. Since November, their membership has grown 20-fold as they build out a strong national and local coalition.
The latest presidential election brought the failure of our voting system into stark relief. The two major parties nominated the most disliked, untrusted candidates in memory. Americans were pressured to choose between them by a relentless fear campaign that tells us to vote against the candidate we fear the most, instead of for the candidate that represents our values.
Democracy is not served when the key question deciding our votes is who do we hate the most! Democracy needs our vision and values to lead the way. And that’s exactly what Ranked Choice Voting accomplishes.
All we need now are the financial resources to power up the next breakthrough. Succeeding in Massachusetts can lead the way for states across America to liberate their votes, break the stranglehold of fear, and reclaim the promise of democracy.
Whatever you can throw into the hat can make the critical difference. In this moment of unprecedented peril and possibility, please join me in making a contribution to changing the political landscape, and building the future we deserve.
Now, more than ever, it’s in our hands!
Jill Stein