Dear John, Want our elected officials to govern more effectively? Part of the answer lies in improving the way we vote. If we give political candidates better incentives when they’re running for office, they’ll govern better, too. Two academic studies published this month show that this idea is working in practice – ranked choice voting (RCV) is leading to elected officials acting in a more bipartisan way. - In Alaska, which started using open primaries and ranked choice voting for general elections in 2022, researchers found the system provided more choice for voters and impacted both electoral outcomes and public policy. Winning candidates have been more likely to work across the aisle, with cross-party majority caucuses emerging to lead both the State House and State Senate.
- In Maine's swing U.S. House district, researchers (including FairVote's own Rachel Hutchinson) found that bipartisan bill cosponsorship increased after the adoption of RCV. The bottom line? Ranked choice voting improves how politicians govern.
I also wanted to share two exciting new columns on Alaska’s improved governance since implementing RCV, from The Washington Post’s Karen Tumulty and Alaska State Rep. Zack Fields: - In the Washington Post, Tumulty writes that ranked choice voting “is a guardrail against extremism in both parties” and that Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski’s independence “makes the case for RCV.” Americans “should take another look at ranked choice voting — a better alternative than the polarizing process they now use to choose those who claim to represent them.”
- In Governing, Fields invites readers to “imagine a country where policymakers routinely work across party lines rather than one in which extremist politics dominate governance. We can rebuild that America. Alaska shows it is possible.”
Finally, I wanted to share a new webpage celebrating a bipartisan group of members of Congress who have stood up for election reforms – Sen. Murkowski, Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, Maine Sen. Angus King, and New Mexico Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández. We hope you’ll check out the page, and learn more about these elected leaders who support reform. Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Stay tuned for more updates on ranked choice voting in the coming days and weeks. Best,
Brian Cannon
FairVote Action Chief Program Officer | 
