Massachusetts Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, also known as Question 2, was an

initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...

at the

2020 Massachusetts general election The 2020 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 2020, throughout Massachusetts. Partisan primary, Primary elections were held on September 1, 2020. At the federal level, all nine seats in the United States House of Representat ...

that would have changed

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

and elections in Massachusetts from

plurality voting Plurality voting refers to electoral systems in which the candidates in an electoral district who poll more than any other (that is, receive a plurality) are elected. Under single-winner plurality voting, and in systems based on single-member ...

ranked-choice voting Ranked-choice voting may be used as a synonym for: * Ranked voting, a term used for any voting system in which voters are asked to rank candidates in order of preference * Instant-runoff voting (IRV), a specific ranked voting system with single-wi ...

(RCV) for all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices beginning in 2022. RCV would not be extended to elections for president, county commissioner, or regional district school committee member. The initiative failed, with 54.8% of voters voting "No" and 45.2% "Yes". If passed, Massachusetts would have become the second state to adopt ranked-choice voting for state and federal offices, following

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

's passage of Question 5 in 2016 and subsequent passage of Question 1 in June 2018. Other initiatives to enact ranked choice voting in 2020 include the Alaska Ballot Measure 2.

Summary

Ranked choice voting is a voting system where voters can rank multiple candidates in order of their preference and is used to ensure election of a candidate with majority support. People supporting lower performing candidates as their first preference can redistribute their vote to more viable candidates, avoiding the problems of

vote splitting In social choice theory and politics, a spoiler effect happens when a losing candidate affects the results of an election simply by participating. Voting rules that are not affected by spoilers are said to be spoilerproof. The frequency and se ...

and spoiler candidates. Ranked choice voting is used in elections in

(since 2018; adopted 2016), the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(since 1918), for the

Irish President The president of Ireland () is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces. The presidency is a predominantly ceremonial institution, serving as the representative of the Irish state both at home and abr ...

(since 1938), and in numerous cities across the United States.

Voting Process

In ranked choice voting, ballots are completed by giving candidates a number ranking in order of voter preference, starting with a voter's first choice. Voters are able to rank as many candidates as they desire and to include

write-in candidate A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

s on their ballots. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, then the ballot works as an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and that candidate's votes are redistributed to their supporters’ second choices. If no candidate has a majority after that round, then the process continues until a candidate with majority support is found.

Endorsements

Voter Choice Massachusetts is the lead sponsor of the Yes on 2 campaign. In addition, it has the formal endorsements of the Democratic Party of Massachusetts, the

Libertarian Party of Massachusetts The Liberty Alliance of Massachusetts (LAMA), previously known as the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts and Libertarian Association of Massachusetts (LAMA), is a libertarian political party in Massachusetts. It was affiliated with the national ...

, the

Green-Rainbow Party The Green-Rainbow Party (GRP) is the Massachusetts affiliate of the Green Party of the United States and a political designation in Massachusetts officially recognized by the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Up until 2020, it was a ...

Common Cause Common Cause is a watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon ...

, the

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

RepresentUs RepresentUs is a Nonpartisanism in the United States, non-partisan not-for-profit organization focused on ending political corruption in the United States. Funded by donations and grants, it is run mostly by volunteers aligned in a grassroots ...

, and many other organizations. In a September 2020 editorial for the ''Boston Globe'', Senator Elizabeth Warren endorsed ranked choice voting, arguing, "By requiring the winner to reach more than 50 percent of the vote, ranked-choice voting ensures the winning candidate is the one with the broadest appeal to the majority of voters. The ability to mobilize the broadest and deepest appeal across the electorate would replace the ability to target a passionate minority constituency, which may be extreme or nonrepresentative from the standpoint of most voters as the key to winning." On October 11, the Editorial Board o''f The Boston Globe'' published ''Vote yes on Question 2'', writing "with Question 2, Bay State voters can make our government far more representative of the will of the people."

Summary

Voting Process

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Notes

See also

References

Further reading