Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as a Solution to Gerrymandering?
Wouldn't Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) be a kind of antibody to gerrymandering?
To be upfront: I'm not addressing the political challenge of educating voters on RCV or getting it implemented. My thesis is simply that if RCV were widely adopted, gerrymandering would become a fool's errand for any party.
Gerrymandering is appealing precisely because it only requires manipulating two dimensions: pack and crack across two parties. That simplicity flows directly from a two-party dominated plurality voting (2PDPV) system. 2PDPV breeds a few distinct voter habits:
- Extreme single-issue voting: Voters inclined toward single-issue voting view a loss as catastrophic and a win as a boon — regardless of how extreme the candidate's platform is on that issue.
- Disenfranchisement: Neither candidate looks appealing, so voters either sit out entirely or vote for the lesser of two evils without believing government will do anything meaningful either way.
- Heuristic party loyalty: With choices so constrained, party loyalty becomes a mental shortcut — voters submit a ballot without seriously considering who they're asking to represent them.
The result is low turnout and a politically disengaged populace caught between extreme single-issue voting and milquetoast party loyalty.
RCV would disrupt that dynamic in several ways:
- Third-party viability: Every vote counts toward a voter's preferred candidate, opening the door for third (or fourth, or fifth) parties to insert themselves between the current two.
- Single-issue relief: Rather than viewing a loss as catastrophic, single-issue voters could treat elections as opportunities to incrementally advance their ideas.
- Layered party loyalty: Instead of binary allegiance, voters could express a hierarchy of preferences across a spectrum of political dispositions.
- Enfranchisement: Knowing their vote will pool toward their best viable option — rather than vanish — gives voters a reason to research candidates and engage meaningfully. Maybe I'm being idealistic, but I think that translates to higher turnout.
With a more fluid, multi-party electorate, defining a district's political tendency becomes much harder. Drawing a map to entrench any single party's power would become untenable.
Curious to hear why others think gerrymandering would — or wouldn't — be crippled by RCV.