A bill has been introduced in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives to permit the use of ranked choice voting in local elections. The bill is appropriately numbered 123, since RCV is based on ranking candidates (1-2-3) in order of preference, so that the best doesn't become the enemy of the good (or just less bad) and every vote truly counts.
March on Harrisburg has made it easy for PA voters to write their representatives in support of this measure. Here's the text of my letter:
The disaffection and alienation of so many eligible voters is due in significant part to the partisan polarization promoted by first-past-the-post elections. These result in tribal thinking and mutual demonization by citizens of differing political inclinations instead of open-minded exploration of each other's ideas. It also frequently results in the election of candidates who don't actually reflect the preference of a majority of voters.
An alternative to this is Ranked Choice Voting, which is used by 63 U.S. jurisdictions, including 59 cities, 2 counties, 2 states, and over 13 million voters. Data show that it results in less toxic campaigning, more voter engagement, higher turnout, and fairer representation. Most of all, everywhere it’s used, voters like it!
I urge you to support Ranked Choice Voting in Pennsylvania by 1) becoming a co-sponsor of HB 123, which would allow jurisdictions to adopt Ranked Choice Voting for their local elections, and 2) asking the State Government Committee for hearings and movement forward on Ranked Choice Voting.
You can send your own letter by going to https://actionnetwork.org/letters/ask-your-representative-if-they-support-rankedchoicevoting-in-pennsylvania and editing the suggested text to personalize your message.
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