Ranked choice voting bill moves to hearing in front of Wisconsin Senate elections committee
MADISON, Wis. — A bipartisan bill that would dramatically change the way Wisconsin residents choose congressional candidates by asking them to rank their top choices instead of voting for one of two candidates is headed to its first public hearing.
The Senate Elections Committee was scheduled to provide public comment Tuesday on a proposal that would implement a ranked choice system known as the final five. Under that system, voters would rank their top five candidates from all parties, instead of just the top Democratic and Republican contenders. The hearing is the first for the complicated plan that would drastically change the way Wisconsin voters choose their representatives in Washington.
“The purpose of the Final Five Voting is not to change who gets elected; it is designed to change the incentives of those who do get elected,” the bill's primary authors — Republican Reps. Ron Tusler and Tony Kurtz, Democratic Rep. Daniel Riemer, Republican Sen. Jesse James and Democratic Sen. Jeff Smith — said in a memo looking for co-sponsors. “Officials elected through the Final Five Voting – who are elected by and accountable to the general electorate – will be given the freedom to deliver solutions that meet our country's complex challenges.”
The bill would implement a form of ranked choice voting, where all candidates for a seat in the U.S. House or Senate would appear together in a primary ballot, regardless of party, with the top five advancing to the general election. Currently, Republicans and Democrats have separate ballots in partisan primaries.
Voters would rank the five primary winners in order of preference in the general election. If a candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, he wins. If no one wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and everyone who had that person as their first choice goes to their second choice. That process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes. Currently, candidates can win a seat without a majority.
A bipartisan group of 21 lawmakers signed the bill as cosponsors.
Maine adopted a ranked choice system for all federal elections and state primaries in 2016. Alaska moved to a ranked choice system for state and federal races in 2020. No other states have adopted it, although three counties and 45 cities across the country use it for local elections, according to FairVote. Nevada voters passed a ballot question last year to implement ranked choice; it must pass again in 2024 to take effect.
Proponents say a ranked choice system gives voters more choices and reduces negative campaigning because candidates must appeal to the widest possible range of voters to earn second and third place finishes. They also emphasize that the system gives external and independent candidates a better chance.
Opponents say the system is difficult to understand and results are difficult to count. They also argue that the approach amounts to giving multiple votes to a voter in the same election, which is contrary to the 'one person, one vote' philosophy.
Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced the proposal in each of the last two legislative sessions, but it went nowhere each time.
This time, Republican opponents are on the offensive, pushing for a constitutional amendment that would ban ranked-choice voting.
State election systems are already difficult to understand and ranked choice would make matters even more complex, they argue. Multiple rounds of tabulation would delay the announcement of results and voters would be forced to guess which candidates would remain standing after each elimination round, she added. Special interest groups could develop strategies to manipulate rankings and results, they warned.
“At a time when many Wisconsinites are asking the Legislature to simplify the operation of our election system, ranked-choice voting would further complicate it with calculations that dictate outcomes that are counterintuitive to every voter,” the statement said. Republicans who authored the amendment, Sen. Duey Stroebel and Reps. Ty Bodden, Chanz Green and Joy Goeben wrote in a co-sponsor memo.
Britt Cudaback, spokesperson for Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, did not immediately respond to a message asking whether the governor supports ranked-choice voting.
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Associated Press writers Geoff Mulvihill in Philadelphia, Becky Bohr in Juneau, Alaska, and Gabe Stern in Carson City, Nevada, contributed to this report.