If discarded ballots, inaccurate election results, and election outcomes that conflict with voters ‘ wishes are n’t enough to cause you to distrust ranked-choice voting (RCV), then maybe a support from the members of America’s communist party will do the same.
Two Communist Party USA ( CPUSA ) members, Drew Bradley and Ryan Krueger, wrote an op-ed on Sunday that called for the organization to take ranked choice voting into account as part of the broad democratic struggle and an aspect of developing a stronger Popular Front. Under RCV, which critics usually refer to as “rigged- alternative voting”, voters rank individuals in order of preference. If no prospect receives more than 50 cent of earliest- choice votes in the first round of voting, the final- place finisher is eliminated, and his votes are reallocated to the voter’s next- choice candidate. This procedure continues until a single candidate receives the majority of the vote.
Alaska, Maine, and several U. S. towns have adopted the technique for their votes in recent years.
Bradley and Krueger used their content to point out the “resurgence in fascination for ranked choice voting,” which they claimed “has emerged as conflicts within socialism have created the need for social events outside the liberal/conservative dynamic.” The two further lamented how this “dynamic” has prevented “working school large organizations ] from having the option to choose individuals outside of the two capitalist events and expressed their support for RCV in supporting individuals that fully reveal their political objectives.
In other words, they support the use of RCV because they believe it to be the most effective means of gaining CPUSA individuals ‘ seats. They claimed that by using the program, they could “wrest social power from the businessman financing capitalists.”
The authors of the communist movement also acknowledged that the system can be used to thwart so-called “far-right” candidates (aka conservatives ) to benefit Democrats in any given race, even if their candidates do n’t end up winning elections using RCV.
Our vote would just be distributed to another non-fascist candidate if our hypothetical anti-monopoly party ran against a Democrat and Republican and did not receive a winning number of votes, they wrote. ” Ranked choice voting will enable us to advance the anti-monopoly battle without compromising the crucial task of overthrowing the far-right in the political process.”
Sure enough, in state where it’s used, RCV boosts Democrats ‘ political hopes. In Alaska, for example, Democrat Mary Peltola , won , the state’s at- big parliamentary seats in a 2022 special election even though “nearly 60 percent of voters]cast ] their votes for a Democratic”. A similar scenario also played out in the 2018 race for Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, in which then- incumbent GOP Rep. Bruce Poliquin , lost , to Democrat Jared Golden despite Poliquin winning the most votes in the first round of voting.
RCV has also benefited establishment Republicans who were attempting to field more conservative candidates. In large part, the system is responsible for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s reelection victory in the 2022 midterms.
According to a study conducted by the Foundation for Government Accountability in October, Democrats are frequently the group’s main supporters. According to the analysis, of the 74 pro- RCV bills introduced in state legislatures last year, 57 “had only Democrat sponsors”. Meanwhile,” just eight percent of the total bills received bipartisan support”, with Republicans introducing 16 of the 17 bills opposing ranked- choice voting.
Speaking with The Federalist, Ken Cuccinelli, the national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, said it’s” no surprise that U. S.communists would view ranked- choice voting as a vehicle to help advance their interests and candidates”, and called on states to prevent the system from corrupting their elections.
” We already know that anti-election integrity megadonors are funding a nationwide campaign to promote the disastrous scheme intended to dramatically push our politics to the left, elevate left-leaning politicians, and weaken political parties to their advantage,” Cuccinelli said. ” Rosted-choice voting should always be prohibited if state legislators do n’t want the communists to win.” It’s really a no- brainer”.
In a move to outlaw the use of RCV in their elections, Alabama joined Oklahoma and Kentucky earlier this month. Other states to outlaw the system in years prior include Florida, Idaho, Tennessee, Montana, and South Dakota.
Shawn Fleetwood is a University of Mary Washington graduate and a staff writer for The Federalist. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
