Proposed legislation in Ohio would ban ranked-choice voting in the state, but the state’s voting equipment may prevent the approach from being implemented.
Under Senate Bill 63, any county or municipality that opts for ranked choice voting would be ineligible to receive distributions from the Local Government Fund.
Under ranked-choice voting, voters rank candidates according to their preference instead of choosing a single candidate. Then, candidates are eliminated during a series of rounds until a winner emerges.
“While ranked choice voting is not currently used in Ohio, it was employed by several cities, including Cincinnati, Cleveland and Toledo, in the 1900s before its citizens, fed up with the process, demanded the experiment to end,” state Sen. Theresa Gavarone, R-Bowling Green, said in prepared sponsor testimony. “Unfortunately, some in our state are ignoring history by plowing forward with an idea that would bring ranked choice voting to Ohio.
“In a time when people from both parties have questioned the integrity of our elections, it seems crazy to me that anyone would consider an election method that, in its most basic form, distorts election outcomes,” Gavarone added. “Quite frankly, should ranked choice be implemented across Ohio, it would undo more than two centuries of voters having the ability to cast their vote with one vote and once voice.”
Among the groups that would like to see ranked-choice voting is Common Cause Ohio.
“Elections should represent voters’ choices fairly and accurately,” Mia Lewis, associate director of Common Cause Ohio, said in prepared testimony. “Ranked Choice Voting gives voters more freedom to choose candidates based on their preferences instead of their expected electability.
“This system encourages candidates to campaign to larger audiences, including constituencies they may have otherwise counted out,” Lewis added. “Candidates will need to persuade voters to list them as a second or third choice and may discourage candidates from smearing others to avoid losing voters’ support.”
However, opponents of ranked-choice voting say the approach is antithetical to transparency.
“Banning the complicated scheme known as ranked-choice voting will ensure that Ohio elections are transparent, efficient, and accessible for every voter,” Jacqueline Doyer, legal policy director for the Honest Elections Project, said in prepared testimony, adding that 13 states have banned ranked-choice voting.
“The public consensus is clear: Ranked-choice voting has no place in American elections,” Doyer said. “It is easy to see why Americans feel this way. RCV is corrosive to public trust in elections.”
In prepared testimony, Anthony Perlatti, director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections, said that none of the five voting systems currently certified in Ohio can execute a rank-choice voting election.
“Beyond this most critical component of not having equipment and, or software to conduct a rank choice voting election, there are several requirements in Ohio election law and Secretary of State Directives that will need reviewed,” Perlatti said. “The initial review would have to be conducted to determine if in their current state the laws and Directives work for both rank choice and non-rank choice voting and if new legislation is needed to facilitate effective election administration.”
Perlatti told lawmakers there would “need to be a long runway to implementing rank choice voting as massive voter education efforts will be needed.”
“It is my understanding that the number of overvoted contests substantially increases as voters are very confused with the ranking process,” Perlatti added. “Especially contests that allow voting for multiple candidates, such as in a municipal at-large council contest.”
Gavarone and state Sen. Andrew Brenner, R-Delaware also introduced Senate Bill 153, which requires proof of citizenship to cast a ballot in the state.
