Letter: Ranked Choice Voting would be good for NH

As a state representative, I’m supporting a bill to introduce NH to Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). It’s an enabling bill that would allow municipalities to opt in to use RCV for their elections and would allow parties to opt in to use RCV for primary elections, including the presidential primary. The goal of RCV is to elect a candidate who wins over 50% of the votes. Voters get to rank the candidates in order of preference. The votes are tabulated in runoff rounds, until a candidate wins over 50%.

RCV is an improvement over the “first-past-the-post” system we use now because it allows voters to vote their conscience, rather than vote for the perceived party favorite or the lesser of two evils. This system is already used in many countries and in many jurisdictions in the U.S. Courts have consistently upheld RCV as constitutional. Courts have ruled that RCV gives each voter an equal vote. “Every voter has the same opportunity to rank candidates when she casts her ballot, and in each round every voter’s vote carries the same value.” RCV is fairer and more representative of the will of the people than our current system. It eliminates vote-splitting and the spoiler effect. It discourages negative campaigning and enables the political process to focus on what unites us, rather than what divides us. Ultimately, RCV can help to cure a divided society. Visit nhrankedchoice.org to learn more.

Joan Hamblet

Portsmouth