The biggest problem with the way we do things now is that election winners often receive less than a majority of the votes. This result undermines a bedrock concept of our democracy.

In addition to this fundamental problem, when multiple candidates run for a single seat, voters may feel they need to vote strategically — voting for the “lesser of two evils” for fear of “wasting their vote.” RCV would free voters to vote for their truly preferred candidate in the first round.

Similarly, our current system may discourage potential candidates from running, because of a fear of splitting the vote with like minded candidates, which could result in handing the election to a disliked candidate. RCV would likely result in a broader range of candidates, with third party candidates and independents being more willing to run. A wider variety of candidates ensures candidates are more representative of voters.

Ranked Choice Voting addresses all these problems. Simply allowing you to rank your candidates changes all these dynamics. In addition, FairVote.org says that Ranked Choice Voting increases campaign civility because candidates need voters to support them as second (or third, fourth, etc.) choices, and therefore do not want to alienate voters with negative campaigns.