•July 18, 2018•

By Jim Nowlan
NP Guest Columnist

I have a friend who is among 10 candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in the August primary election in Wisconsin. Political observers in cheese-head country say the winner might receive as few as 25 percent of the votes cast. In effect, the preferences of three-quarters of the voters will be disregarded.
Because of situations like this, a flurry of interest has developed around a voting system called “ranked voting.”
Some background. In Illinois, Wisconsin and most places in the U.S., you and I vote for one candidate for each office on the ballot, in both the spring primaries and November general elections. The candidate receiving the most votes, even if only 25 percent, wins.
In contrast, for the past century Australia has used a voting system that results in a winner who is preferred by a majority of voters. It is called “ranked voting” (also known as “instant run-off” and “preferential voting”). Recently, Maine used the system in its statewide primary election.
Under ranked voting, a voter ranks candidates from first to last on his ballot, if he wishes.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.