Josh Elliott

Are you ready to vote your conscience and strategically when electing our president? I believe our current method of voting is flawed and needs to be updated as we’ve seen in other states. I fully support an alternative to voting for simply one candidate. I’m talking about Ranked Choice Voting, which is part of House Bill 6825. I understand that Ranked Choice Voting can be confusing, but here is how it works:

• You vote in order of preference of the candidates
• You can vote for none of them, one of them, or as many as you like in order of preference
• Winner must receive at least 50% of the vote, not a simple majority

Ranked Choice Voting received a 30 minute debate. CLICK HERE to learn more.

 

Ranked Choice Voting will also change campaigns for the better – allowing residents to learn more about those running for office. For years, voters have said, time and time again, that campaign ads do not have much substance because they simply target other candidates in an overtly negative way. Ranked Choice Voting incentives candidates to break down their priorities while having more productive dialogue with opponents.

One of the biggest concerns with Ranked Choice Voting is it will take longer to find out who wins an election. We live in a world where we want results quickly. While we may have to wait a bit longer for a winner, Ranked Choice offers a more democratic process to putting elected officials in office. Again, it allows all of us to vote our conscience and strategically.

I spoke to the New Haven Independent about this topic last year. CLICK HERE to listen to that interview.

House Bill 6825 would only affect presidential primaries. The House of Representatives still needs to vote on the measure before it can move to the Senate. We have until June 7 to get it passed.