A bill to allow ranked-choice voting (RCV) in some elections was approved by the Connecticut Legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee late Wednesday night.
The measure has failed in Connecticut in previous sessions. If it passed this year, Connecticut would join a growing list of states and cities that use the method, including New York City, Maine and Alaska.
This year’s bill comes after the Governor’s Ranked-Choice Voting Working Group, which met several times last year to develop the proposal, recommended the state adopt RCV. Current state law doesn’t allow for RCV in primary or general elections.
The group was chaired by State Senator Tony Hwang (R-Fairfield). He testified in support of the bill on Monday.
“I believe that Senate Bill 1536 will modernize our electoral system and help move Connecticut toward a more inclusive and fair voting process. Ranked-choice voting has the potential to bring about a more representative democracy, reduce polarization, and allow for a healthier and more engaging political environment for all voters,” Hwang stated in his testimony.
But the idea doesn't have buy-in from everyone.
How RCV works
If a candidate receives more than half of the first-choice votes, they win. However, the race goes to an instant runoff if there is no majority winner after the first choices are counted. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who chose them as their number one have their votes count for their second choice.
The process continues until there’s a majority winner.
Confused? You’re not alone. GAE Ranking Member Rob Sampson (R-Wolcott) said that’s part of why he doesn't support it.
“There are so many issues for me with ranked-choice voting,” Sampson said. “The first and foremost one is the confusion issue.”
The legislation would only allow ranked-choice voting in party caucuses, conventions, and primaries, and it would be optional for municipalities and parties to adopt.
GAE co-chair Mae Flexer (D-Brooklyn) voted to pass the measure out of committee. Still, she admitted that if it passes the next legislative hurdles, there will be work to do to implement it.
“I think this begins to create a system where ranked-choice voting would be possible, but there's still a lot of choices that will be required for ranked-choice voting to take place,” Flexer said.
The bill now heads to the Senate for consideration.
