Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is designed to produce electoral outcomes that more accurately reflect the collective preferences of the majority. Unlike traditional single-choice voting systems, RCV enables voters to rank candidates in order of preference. This system ensures that voter preferences are taken into account, even if a voter's top choice is eliminated, thereby enhancing the representativeness of the election result. The process is simple, with voters just coloring in the corresponding bubbles for their choices, much like how children might rank their favorite colors: "First purple, then pink, then blue!" Then, if the first-choice candidate does not win, people are still able to contribute to helping their second or third choice win.
By contrast, the current Plurality Voting system can allow candidates to win without a true majority. In the 1968 election, according to Britannica: “Overall, Nixon won 43.4 percent of the vote to Humphrey’s 42.7 percent, and Wallace captured 13.5 percent." This result indicates that the winner may have lacked broad support, which undermines the legitimacy of the outcome. This leads to a lack of political participation, either because people believe that their votes do not matter, or because voters believe that neither of the two parties represents any of their personal values. RCV may even encourage more voter turnout now that the people have more options to represent them.
RCV has the potential to enhance overall voter satisfaction with elected officials by fostering outcomes that more closely reflect the electorate’s diverse preferences. By allowing voters to rank multiple candidates, RCV encourages the participation of third parties and independent candidates, reducing the dominance of the two-party system. This multiplicity of choices can broaden political representation and give rise to candidates who appeal to a wider spectrum of ideological views, including more moderate policy positions that bridge the divide between parties. Furthermore, RCV incentivizes candidates to appeal to a broader electorate, as they must often seek second and third-choice rankings from individuals outside their core base. This promotes more respectful campaigns, since negative attacks on opponents risk alienating potential supporters who would more likely place them as second-choice candidates that are well-mannered towards their first choice. This encourages candidates to focus on policy proposals to get outcomes that more accurately embody the will of the electorate, rather than harsh competition against the opposing party.
Overall, RCV represents the collective majority, suggests higher voter satisfaction and encourages campaigns that are policy-based, include a variety of perspectives, and are more respectful. RCV allows the electorate to be represented, regardless of necessarily winning their first choice in the election.