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As I See It

Time for a new system of voting in Wisconsin?

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Is it time for a new system of voting in Wisconsin? In our current election system, the candidate who gets the most votes win, even if they don’t capture fifty percent of the vote. That could change under legislation being introduced by two Wisconsin state legislators. It is called ranked-choice-voting. Under that system, voters rank the candidates in order of preference, assigning a “1” for their favorite candidate, a “2” for their second favorite candidate and so on. If no candidate captures a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-choice preference is eliminated and their votes are assigned to other candidates based on that voter’s next preference. That continues until a candidate has a majority. Such a system makes sense, and is growing in popularity. They already do it in Minneapolis and New York. The new voting system has some advantages, ensuring that whoever is elected got at least 50% of the vote. It also eliminates the need for the nonpartisan February primary, saving money for state and local municipalities. Most importantly, ranked-choice-voting gives voters more say in the outcome, making sure people can vote for who they want, not just who they think has the best chance of winning. And that is good for our Democracy.

Scott Robert Shaw serves as WIZM Program Director and News Director, and delivers the morning news on WKTY, Z-93 and 95.7 The Rock. Scott has been at Mid-West Family La Crosse since 1989, and authors Wisconsin's only daily radio editorial, "As I See It" heard on WIZM each weekday morning and afternoon.

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