With the primaries coming up at the end of the month and the November general election looming, Colorado voters have likely been seeing the term “ranked choice voting” pop up quite a bit. In fact, registered voters should be prepared to answer a question about it on the ballot this fall. But what is ranked choice voting? And how might it affect YOU? Read up.
What Is It?
Ranked choice voting, sometimes called an “instant runoff,” is a system that allows voters to rank all candidates in a given race in order of preference, instead of casting a singular vote for the person they want to win. While there are different versions out there, generally, if a candidate wins more than 50% of the first-preference votes, they are the outright winner. If no candidate has that majority, the candidates with the fewest first-preference votes are eliminated until one candidate remains with the majority.
- Dive deeper: Supporters of RCV believe it gives voters more choice and opportunity to support minor and third-party candidates. Detractors, on the other hand, argue RCV leads to voter confusion and less confidence. You can see some other arguments for and against RCV here.
Is It Coming to Colorado? Maybe.
Currently, Colorado doesn’t do ranked choice voting for statewide elections — though some municipalities, like Boulder, Fort Collins, and Telluride use it for their local elections. States like Maine and Alaska already use RCV for statewide elections and Coloradans will soon decide if RCV will happen here, too. Initiative 310, slated for Colorado’s November ballot, will ask voters to consider adopting a ranked choice approach for general elections.
The Controversy:
Even if voters pass Initiative 310 this fall, a new bill signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis last week will make implementing RCV a long drawn-out process, requiring at least 12 Colorado municipalities to independently adopt and test the system before it could be implemented statewide. Denver Rep. Emily Sirota (D) added this provision last-minute, but it’s backed by many county clerks and election officials across the state who argue they would need time to adjust to such a massive change to the system. Sponsors of Initiative 310 accused Sirota of obstructing the will of the voters.
- Rep. Sirota responds, “It's not creating roadblocks for ranked-choice voting, it is just rolling it out in a more responsible way.”
In the End, It’s Up to the Voters:
If Initiative 310 does pass, Polis has vowed to uphold the will of the voters. The governor promised he would reconcile the newly signed law with the Initiative 310 ballot measure and “take prompt and good faith actions” to ensure the bill is implemented by 2028.
