Vermonter, moved to Maine. Ranked choice voting is pretty sweet. I don’t feel bad about putting a third party if I like their position as my first choice and my “popular” choice that I like best as a second or third option. It virtually eliminates the need for run-off elections, which generally have lower participation, cost money, demand for volunteers to work polling booths again, etc. I don’t feel pressure to not “waste” my vote in voting for a third party that maybe more aligns with my opinions than one of the major parties. You always have the option to put one candidate’s name on the ballot and nobody else’s. In my experience, it admittedly can be more confusing the first time and for some of the elderly population.

I don’t think it will immediately result in more third parties in office, but over time third parties will have greater ability to fundraise and gain attention. I’m just so sick of the us vs them mentality that the two party system and our 24/7 breaking news media has helped create. It would be super cool if more states did this and the discussion started shifting more to ideas, strategies, and competence rather than buzzwords, name calling, wild hypothesis to fill time, and conspiracy theories.

I think there would be a lot of opposition to this from people who don’t understand it or have been maybe misinformed and people who enjoy and/or benefit from the two party system. Successful adoption would mean listening, engaging, and implementing the system in a way that is fair and transparent that all people can understand.