[EL] Utah != Alaska != Maine = NYC

[Rob Richie]

In general, we at FairVote talk with an interesting mix of Republican and
Democratic state legislators and party leaders who find RCV's virtues
appealing, consistent with Rick Piildes' proposition. The common principle
that we find makes sense to many across the spectrum is that when you have
a choice among more than two candidates,  a single choice is limiting and
can lead to unrepresentative outcomes. Ranked choice voting provides a
backup that makes it more likely your vote will count without your backup
choice hurting the electoral chances of your first choice. In many ways,
it's just common sense

In Utah, RCV has advanced in a very bipartisan way within the legislature
and within cities. The 23 cities where the city council chose to use RCV
<https://www.fairvote.org/rcv#where_is_ranked_choice_voting_used> represent
a mix of liberal areas and conservative areas. The alternative to use of
RCV for cities is holding a nonpartisan August primary that winnows the
candidate fields to twice the number of candidates as seats for the
November election (so 2 candidates advancing for mayor and 4 candidates
advancing for an at-large council race). In Utah cities, the case for RCV
isn't designed to change the basis for what share of votes it takes to win.
Rather, it is grounded in an argument that RCV in one election is faster,
cheaper and better
<https://www.deseret.com/opinion/2021/3/17/22327919/utah-county-clerk-auditor-ranked-choice-voting-rcv-faster-cheaper-elections>
- and Utah RCV advocates find tha message can resonate everywhere.

Virginia Republicans this spring voluntarily chose to use RCV for
nominating its statewide candidates
<https://www.fairvote.org/va_gop_results> -- choosing to run its own
contest because the state primary doesn't offer that RCV option, but only a
single-choice plurality system that can be problematic in a crowded field.
A lot of Virginia Democrats like the idea of RCV in primaries as well, and
I could see Virginina joining Utah in bipartisan consideration of adoption
of RCV.

- Rob Richie
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