We applaud the proposed bill by Senator Curt Bramble and Representative Mike Winder to use ranked choice voting (RCV) for primary elections in Utah. We think that is the right direction for the state to use RCV. We urge state legislators to support this bill.
We also urge Senator Bramble and Representative Winder to amend their bill to include general election use as well. We propose that the bill introduce RCV in stages - primary elections in 2022 and general elections in 2024.
RCV should be something available to all voters, not just primary election voters. The advantages of RCV - the ability for voters to rank order their candidate preferences rather than just choose one candidate and the ability for a candidate to achieve an electoral majority in a race with more than two candidates - warrants the use of RCV in general elections as well.