Is ranked-choice voting coming to Boston?

There's a new push to use ranked-choice voting for Boston municipal elections. RCV advocates are launching a ballot initiative with help from progressive organizations like the Boston Teachers Union, Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, MassLandlords, and Our Revolution Massachusetts.

This isn't the first time RCV has reared its ugly head in Massachusetts. In 2020, a statewide RCV ballot initiative was voted down by the public after strong opposition from former Governor Charlie Baker. RCV advocates are now hoping to dupe the public into implementing their broken system in the biggest city in the state. And just like all local RCV initiatives, the goal is to eventually implement it statewide.

The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, a non-profit focused on the state’s economy, had this to say about the new initiative:

“It would be unlawful and unconstitutional for this ballot question to go forward. The voters of Massachusetts soundly rejected this complicated scheme only three years ago. The proponents of ranked-choice voting don’t seem to care about the law or the will of the voters, but the Fiscal Alliance Foundation certainly does, and we will protect the voters from advocates that try to abuse the system,”

Local ranked-choice voting initiatives have failed in the past. Voters in San Juan and Clark County, Washington rejected ranked-choice voting ballot measures just last year. Some municipalities that adopted RCV have quickly repealed it. Bostonians should take a page out of their book and say “no” to this complex and risky election scheme.