Ohio and Indiana Should Ban Ranked-Choice Voting Due to Its Harmful Effects on Elections
Source: Shawn Fleetwood. "Ohio, Indiana Approve Bills Banning Ranked-Choice Voting." March 19, 2026. thefederalist.com
The Gist
The author argues that Ohio and Indiana made the right decision by banning ranked-choice voting because it causes problems like voter confusion, delayed results, and can even lead to the 'wrong' candidate winning. The author sees this as Democrats trying to game the system to beat Republicans.
Conclusion
Ohio and Indiana were right to ban ranked-choice voting in their elections
Premises
- Ranked-choice voting decreases voter turnout
- RCV can result in losing candidates being declared winners
- The system produces confusion among voters
- RCV causes delayed election results
- The system leads to thrown-out ('exhausted') ballots
- Democrats push RCV as a way to win races where Republicans would otherwise receive a majority
- 19 states have now adopted laws prohibiting RCV, indicating widespread concern
Assumptions
- Traditional voting methods are superior to ranked-choice voting
- Election systems that can produce different winners than plurality voting are inherently problematic
- Voter confusion is necessarily bad and should be avoided
- Quick election results are more important than potentially more representative outcomes
- Democratic support for RCV indicates it's primarily a partisan tool rather than a reform measure