2020 Massachusetts Question 2

Last updated

2020 Massachusetts Ranked Choice Voting Initiative
Flag of Massachusetts.svg
November 3, 2020 (2020-11-03)

Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement Ranked-Choice Voting in Elections
OutcomeRejected
Results
Choice
Votes %
Check-71-128-204-brightblue.svg Yes1,549,91945.22%
Light brown x.svg No1,877,44754.78%
Valid votes3,427,36693.69%
Invalid or blank votes230,6396.31%
Total votes3,658,005100.00%
Registered voters/turnout4,812,90976%

MA Question 2 2020 Counties.svg
2020 Massachusetts Ranked Choice Voting Initiative results by municipality.svg
MA Question 2 2020.svg

Massachusetts Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, also known as Question 2, was an initiative at the 2020 Massachusetts general election that would have changed primaries and elections in Massachusetts from plurality voting to ranked-choice voting (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'. [1]

Contents

If passed, Massachusetts would have become the second state to adopt ranked-choice voting for state and federal offices, following Maine'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. [2]

Summary

Example of a hypothetical ranked choice election Hand Marking Ranked Ballot.png
Example of a hypothetical ranked choice election

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 and spoiler candidates. Ranked choice voting is used in elections in Maine (since 2018; adopted 2016), [3] the Australian House of Representatives (since 1918), [4] for the Irish President (since 1938), [5] and in numerous cities across the United States. [6]

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 candidates 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. [7]

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 Green-Rainbow Party, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, RepresentUs, and many other organizations. [8] [9]

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." [10]

On October 11, the Editorial Board of 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." [11]

Question 2 Endorsements
Political Parties
Senators
Representatives
State Officials

Polling

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size [a]
CohortMargin
of error
Yes (for the initiative)No (against the initiative)OtherUndecided
YouGov/UMass Amherst October 14–21, 2020713 (LV)All± 4.5%48%43%9%
Ipsos/Spectrum News October 7–15, 20201,001 (A)All± 3.5%45%34%21%
MassInc./WBUR August 6–9, 2020501 (LV)All± 4.4%36%36%1% [b] 27%
323 (LV)Respondents who say they understand RCV
very well or somewhat well
± 5.6%48%35%2% [c] 15%
161 (LV)Respondents who say they do not understand RCV
very well or do not understand it at all
± 7.9%14%38%0%48%

Results

Question 2
ChoiceVotes %
Light brown x.svg No1,877,44754.78
Yes1,549,91945.22
Valid votes3,427,36693.69
Total votes3,658,005100.00
Registered voters/turnout4,812,90976.00
Source: [12] [13]

Notes

  1. Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear
  2. "Refused" with 1%
  3. "Refused" with 2%

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FairVote</span> U.S. electoral reform organization

FairVote is a 501(c)(3) organization and lobbying group in the United States. It was founded in 1992 as Citizens for Proportional Representation to support the implementation of proportional representation in American elections. Its focus changed over time to emphasize instant-runoff voting (IRV), a national popular vote, and universal voter registration. It changed its name to the Center for Voting and Democracy in 1993 and to FairVote in 2004.

An open primary is a primary election that does not require voters to be affiliated with a political party in order to vote for partisan candidates. In a traditional open primary, voters may select one party's ballot and vote for that party's nomination. As in a closed primary, the highest voted candidate in each party then proceeds to the general election. In a nonpartisan blanket primary, all candidates appear on the same ballot and the two highest voted candidates proceed to the runoff election, regardless of party affiliation. The constitutionality of this system was affirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States in Washington State Grange v. Washington State Republican Party in 2008, whereas a partisan blanket primary was previously ruled to be unconstitutional in 2000. The arguments for open primaries are that voters can make independent choices, building consensus that the electoral process is not splintered or undermined by the presence of multiple political parties.

The 2006 Massachusetts general election was held on November 7, 2006, throughout Massachusetts.

Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a ranked voting method used in single-winner elections. IRV is also known outside the US as the alternative vote (AV). Today it is in use at a national level to elect the Australian House of Representatives, the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, the President of Ireland and President of India. In Australia it is also used for elections to the legislative assemblies of all states and territories except Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, and for the Tasmanian Legislative Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electoral reform in Colorado</span>

Electoral reform in Colorado refers to efforts to change the voting laws in the Centennial State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranked-choice voting in the United States</span> Electoral system used in some cities and states

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) can refer to one of several ranked voting methods used in some cities and states in the United States. The term is not strictly defined, but most often refers to instant-runoff voting (IRV) or single transferable vote (STV), the main difference being whether only one winner or multiple winners are elected.

The Massachusetts general election, 2010 was held on November 2, 2010 throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections took place on September 14, 2010.

A Massachusetts general election was held on November 5, 2002 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Althea Garrison</span> American politician (born 1940)

Althea Garrison is an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts who previously served a single term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives (1993–1995) and a partial term as an at-large councilor on the Boston City Council (2019–2020). She is considered the earliest transgender person known to have been elected to a state legislature in the United States. She was outed against her will by the Boston Herald after her 1992 election. She is a perennial candidate, having been an unsuccessful candidate for political office at least 44 times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 United States presidential election in Massachusetts</span>

The 2012 United States presidential election in Massachusetts took place on November 6, 2012, as part of the 2012 United States presidential election in which all 50 states plus the District of Columbia participated. Massachusetts voters chose 11 electors to represent them in the Electoral College via a popular vote pitting incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and his running mate, Vice President Joe Biden, against Republican challenger and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and his running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ranked voting</span> Voting systems that use ranked ballots

Ranked voting is any voting system that uses voters' rankings of candidates to choose a single winner or multiple winners. More formally, a ranked system is one that depends only on which of two candidates is preferred by a voter, and as such does not incorporate any information about intensity of preferences. Ranked voting systems vary dramatically in how preferences are tabulated and counted, which gives them very different properties. In instant-runoff voting (IRV) and the single transferable vote system (STV), lower preferences are used as contingencies and are only applied when all higher-ranked preferences on a ballot have been eliminated or when one of the higher ranked preferences has been elected and surplus votes need to be transferred.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unified primary</span> Single-winner electoral system

A unified primary is an electoral system for narrowing the field of candidates for a single-winner election, similar to a nonpartisan blanket primary, but using approval voting for the first round, advancing the top-two candidates, allowing voters to confirm the majority-supported candidate in the general election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">June 2018 Maine Question 1</span>

Maine Question 1 was a people's veto referendum that appeared on the June 12, 2018 statewide ballot. It sought to reject a law passed by the Maine Legislature that suspended the implementation of ranked-choice voting, authorized by Maine voters in a previous referendum, for use in Maine elections until and if an amendment to the Maine Constitution is passed to expressly permit it; failing that, the law would be automatically repealed in 2021. It qualified because supporters of the original referendum collected the necessary number of signatures from registered Maine voters. This vote coincided with primary elections in which party nominees for governor, U.S. Senate, U.S. House, and the Maine Legislature were chosen through RCV to run in general elections on November 6.

Three ballot measures were certified for the November 6, 2018, general election in the state of Massachusetts.

Two ballot measures were certified for the November 3, 2020, general election in the state of Massachusetts. Multiple other ballot measures that were initiated by supporters did not meet requirements, thus will not appear on the ballot.

The 2020 Massachusetts general election was held on November 3, 2020, throughout Massachusetts. Primary elections were held on September 1, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Massachusetts Question 1</span>

The Massachusetts Right to Repair Initiative (2020), also known as Question 1, appeared on the Massachusetts 2020 general election ballot as an initiated state statute. It was approved by voters and the measure will update the state's right to repair laws to include electronic vehicle data. A similar Right to repair initiative appeared on the 2012 state ballot and passed with 86% of the vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Alaska Measure 2</span>

Alaska Measure 2 was a ballot initiative approved by voters in Alaska as part of the 2020 United States elections. The proposal switched Alaska's primary system to a non-partisan blanket primary. The top four candidates progress to the general election, which is conducted with ranked-choice voting. Voting for U.S. president will continue to utilize primaries based on political party, but ranked-choice voting will still be used in the general election. The initiative also requires additional disclosures of campaign financing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Top-four primary</span> Nonpartisan blanket primary

A final-four or final-five primary is an electoral system using a nonpartisan primary by multi-winner plurality in the first step.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Colorado Proposition 131</span> Ballot measure in Colorado regarding ranked-choice voting

2024 Colorado Proposition 131 is a proposed ballot measure that will appear before voters in Colorado during the 2024 general election. The citizen initiated proposition would replace Colorado's current partisan primaries with non-partisan blanket primaries and would implement ranked-choice (instant-runoff) voting for most statewide and state legislative general elections in which the top four candidates in the primary would qualify for the general election ballot.

References

  1. Simón Rios (November 4, 2020). "Voters Say 'No' To Ranked-Choice Voting In Mass". WBUR . Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  2. "On election-reform Ballot Measure 2, backers and opponents don't follow party lines". Anchorage Daily News. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  3. "Ranked Choice Voting in Maine | Maine State Legislature". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  4. "A short history of federal electoral reform in Australia". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  5. "Dail Elections since 1918". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. "Ranked Choice Voting 101". FairVote. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  7. "New York City Voters Just Adopted Ranked-Choice Voting in Elections". Time. November 6, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  8. "Massachusetts Question 2, Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  9. "Who Supports YES ON 2?". Yes on 2 Ranked Choice Voting. Ranked Choice Voting 2020 Committee. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  10. Warren, Elizabeth; Raskin, Jamie (September 18, 2020). "Ranked-choice voting is a better way to vote - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  11. "Vote yes on Question 2 - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. October 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
  12. "PD43+ » 2020 - Statewide - Question 2Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives on or before May 5, 2020?". PD43+. Retrieved January 17, 2021..
  13. "Voter Turnout Statistics". www.sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved January 17, 2021..

Further reading