Abstract
Maine was the first to embrace ranked-choice voting on a statewide level in 2018, using it for all state and general elections. Maine voters will be the first to use ranked-choice voting in a presidential election in 2020. This system differs from traditional voting in that voters rank candidates rather than choose just one. Supporters of ranked-choice voting tout it as a better model for accurately representing the values of the voting population; however, a study conducted in San Francisco details a potential shortfall referred to as “ballot fatigue” that the theoretically-ideal system may face as it struggles to deal with human error. Online voting has the potential to mitigate these problems, but also opens the door to cybersecurity risks. The best solution is an online-voting encryption system already proposed in other countries – it would allow for all the benefits of ranked-choice voting, while minimizing its potential for human error and cybersecurity risks.
Recommended Citation
Khan, Rayyan
(2020)
"The Case for Online Ranked-Choice Voting,"
Student Papers in Public Policy: Vol. 2
:
Iss.
1,
Article 1.
Available at:
https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/sppp/vol2/iss1/1
