Ranked-choice voting stumbles in Michigan
by Trent England
A criticism of ranked-choice voting (RCV) is that it’s slow and confusing. Now the campaign to bring it to Michigan appears itself to be slow and confused.
The Michigan-focused group, Rank MI Vote, started in 2019 and became a ballot measure committee in 2021 but is just now preparing to gather signatures to put a proposal before voters—except that they still have not made their proposal public or filed the necessary paperwork.
The group's most recent campaign finance report showed it with about $120,000 in the bank, which is unlikely to be enough for a successful statewide signature campaign. A “fundraising update” in their May 13 email newsletter showed that they have raised $15,638 toward a $45,000 goal this month.
Last year, more than $100 million was spent pushing RCV ballot measures. So what’s going on in Michigan?
First, even with all that cash, RCV measures failed almost everywhere last year. This included conservative states like Idaho and Montana, but also blue and purple states like Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, and Oregon. In each state, RCV backers massively outspent opponents yet still lost. This has led to rumors about RCV donors pulling back this year, which might be causing Rank MI Vote’s money problems.
Second, Rank MI Vote plans to push a version of RCV that retains partisan primaries, using RCV for those elections and in the general election. That may reduce opposition from political parties, but some major funders and other reformers view this change as pointless. They want a jungle primary with four or five winners who advance to an RCV general election. That is the model favored by big money group Unite America and donor Katherine Gehl.
Third, RCV continues to suffer from overpromising and then underachieving. At least 39 jurisdictions have tried and then repealed RCV, going back to the 1920s. Opposition is bipartisan. Even some RCV supporters have come to admit that its effects are limited, at best. Meanwhile, the dangers of RCV have become more clear—it actually led to a failed election (the wrong winner took office) in Oakland, California.
Rank MI Vote now says it will file its proposal in time for the June 20th meeting of the Michigan Board of State Canvassers, which would allow it to begin gathering signatures in July. That would give the campaign plenty of time and good weather, but if it slips another month or two, the window for easy signature collection will begin to close.