While most political pundits are focused on the pending matchup between former President Donald Trump and (presumably) Vice President Kamala Harris, a major facet of the 2024 contest that’s not getting enough attention is the election-related policy proposals appearing on state ballots across the country.
From voter ID requirements to expanding mail-in voting, these proposed statutory and constitutional changes could significantly alter the way states administer their elections. Here are the biggest ones you need to know about.
Ranked-Choice Voting
Often referred to as “rigged-choice voting” by its critics, ranked-choice voting (RCV) is an elections system in which voters rank candidates of all parties in order of preference. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of first-choice votes in the first round of voting, the last-place finisher is eliminated, and his votes are reallocated to the voter’s second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of votes.
The system has largely been pushed by Democrats as a way of winning traditionally Republican seats and has regularly produced inaccurate election results and discarded ballots. While 10 states have prohibited RCV in recent years, that hasn’t stopped its proponents from attempting to trick voters into adopting the system via the ballot amendment process.
In Idaho, where Republicans passed a law barring the practice last year, RCV supporters reportedly submitted enough signatures earlier this month to have a top-four RCV initiative appear on the state’s November ballot. According to Ballotpedia, the initiative would change state law to
