NOTE: This was originally posted on the Independence Party of Minnesota website in May of 2012.
Ranked Choice Voting and the Independence Party of Minnesota
MYTH: Ranked choice voting is an easy shortcut to successful elections for the Independence Party and its candidates.
So many people I speak with assume that our support for RCV is because of the lift it would give us in the voting booth. The fact is that the very benefit of RCV that most people believe would help us is a real and dangerous challenge to the IP. Let me explain. It is absolutely true that RCV will make it easier for the public to vote for the best candidate. That helps the IP. At the same time, RCV allows practical progressives and reasonable Republicans to run practical and reasonable campaigns without having to seek shelter in the Independence Party. Under RCV, you can have libertarians, tea-partiers, evangelicals and moderates on the same ballot, and all of them with the letter R next to their name. Heck, RCV even opens up the opportunity for fiscally responsible Democrats to get onto the ballot.
FACT: With RCV, Minnesota’s moderate mainstream voter may find reasonable representation in any of the three major parties.
So, if RCV is so dangerous for the Independence Party, why are we so outspoken in our support for it? Because it is the right thing for Minnesota. While our short term goal is to get Independence Party candidates elected to the State Legislature, the Party’s long term goal has always been to provide ALL Minnesotans a voice in state government. Until RCV is incorporated into state elections, the IP will continue to fight for representation for the majority of Minnesotans whose voices are ignored by the other two major parties. And when RCV is the voting method for all state races, the Independence Party will remain the centrist voice in Minnesota politics.
Sometimes doing what is right requires us to do something dangerous.
Mark Jenkins
Chair
Independence Party of Minnesota
