Rep. Diehl: Why Rank-Voting (Measure 117) is bad

No on Measure 117 – Ranked Choice Voting is wrong for Oregon
By Oregon State Representative Ed Deihl,

Dear Friends,

On November 5th Oregonians will decide whether to make radical changes to our election system, impacting both how we vote and how votes are counted. Measure 117 would implement ranked choice voting (RCV) state-wide.

Elections must be easy to understand and accessible to every voter. They must be transparent and easy to audit. They must be secure and controlled locally. They must yield predictable, timely, and understandable results. And they must honor our “one person, one vote” principle. Ranked choice voting under Measure 117 does none of these things.

What is Measure 117 and ranked choice voting?

The measure changes how we vote for President, US Senator and Congressional Representative, Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General, and BOLI Commissioner. It does not change how we vote for state legislators (interesting since this is the body that referred it to the voters.) With RCV, voters rank candidates for each office. Votes are counted toward each voter’s highest ranked candidate. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, votes are tallied automatically in rounds. The candidate receiving the fewest votes in each round is eliminated. An eliminated candidate’s votes go to the voter’s next highest-ranked candidate. The process continues until one candidate has a majority of remaining votes or until the voting rounds are completed.

Ranked choice voting is not new. It has been around since 1870 in its current form. And it has been tried, and repealed, in over 85 US jurisdictions. RCV simply does not live up to the claims made by its proponents. In fact, there is plenty of evidence showing many of their claims are false or misleading. Even if you desire election reform, ranked choice voting is not the answer.

Measure 117 would not lead to a majority vote as most people think of it. It would not eliminate the spoiler effect, one of the major critiques of our current system. It complicates the voting process, leading to more voting errors and more disillusioned voters. It disenfranchises many voters, disproportionately impacting voters based on income and education. Studies show that with RCV, ballots are more likely to be tossed out due to errors or not filling out all rounds – it is like having a runoff election where many voters are denied an opportunity to vote. RCV tally errors have also led to election recalls. Measure 117 would possibly lead to wonky, unexpected results; in some cases, selecting your favorite candidate first can actually hurt their chances of winning.

Sixteen Oregon County Clerks have raised serious concerns about Measure 117, stating it may confuse voters. The head of the NAACP in New York slammed their ranked choice voting system as “voter suppression.” The District of Columbia Democrats voted to reject RCV. RCV is such a disaster that Alaska is voting whether to repeal RCV only 2 years after their first RCV election.

Measure 117 is funded by out of state interests with deep pockets. They are dumping tons of cash into Oregon as well as other states to pass RCV. RCV is not a local, grass-roots effort. As someone recently told me, “Ranked Choice Voting is the Measure 110 of Elections.”

I urge a NO vote on Measure 117. Check out norankedvoting.com for more information or contact me for details. You can find me at EdDiehl.com.