Ranked Choice Voting is marketed as an exciting new way to supercharge Democracy and improve the quality of candidates. It is portrayed as a method to modernize and save our elections.

 

RCV is a method of voting that allows a computer algorithm to conduct a series of black-box run-offs between the final four candidates in a race, aimed at achieving a contrived majority of votes in order to declare a winner. 

 

It does nothing to improve the quality of the candidates. RCV asks voters to rank the four candidates in the order they would like them to finish. If no candidate receives a majority (50% plus 1) in the first tabulation, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.

 

However, the ballots that chose the eliminated candidate as their first choice are now awarded to their next-ranked candidate in the next tabulation. The process is continued until enough votes have been cobbled together allowing one candidate to achieve a manufactured majority of votes.

 

The system is entirely dependent on computers to run the multiple rounds of adjustments and tabulate the votes. It cannot be repeated, recounted or audited.