'Every Vote Counts': What Women Leaders Know About Fixing Broken Political Systems—From Iceland to Washington
- scottyv6
- Jan 22
- 1 min read
| Katie Usalis | Ms. Magazine |
Alison Comyn [is] an Irish journalist-turned-senator from a country that’s used proportional representation—a form of ranked-choice voting—for generations.
In Ireland, elections use what Americans would recognize as a form of ranked-choice voting—known there as proportional representation with a single transferable vote (PR-STV). Instead of checking a single box and walking away wondering if you’ve “wasted” your one precious vote on a long-shot candidate, voters rank their preferences: 1, 2, 3, so on.
Every vote counts
“It’s an extremely fair system,” Comyn told me. “Every vote counts.”
She means this literally: When a candidate is eliminated, their votes transfer to the next preference on each ballot. When a candidate has more votes than they need to win, their surplus is redistributed too. She’s seen elections go to a 20th count, with single-digit margins triggering recounts.
Ranked-choice voting … allows voters to rank a candidate they love as their first choice and a more ‘establishment’ candidate second without feeling like they’ve thrown their voice away.
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