Brazilian “3rd Way” group proposes “ranked-choice voting” model for 2022 election

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The leader of the Podemos party, Renata Abreu, launched a bold idea in the group of parties trying to find a third way in next year’s elections.

As rapporteur for the Electoral Reform Project in the Chamber of Deputies, the deputy wants to win support for the proposal of a “ranked-choice voting” model in 2022 that could avoid a second-round runoff election between Lula da Silva and Bolsonaro.

The system, already used in other countries, would have voters list their favorite candidates, from best to worst. If one of them appears in first place with more than 50% of the vote, they would be elected, as is already the case today. If not, the votes of those who received the fewest votes are eliminated in as many rounds as needed to achieve a majority.

The idea is to eliminate the idea of the “useful vote” that favors polarization. Ranked-choice voting, also called ‘instant runoff election,” was used in New York City elections for mayor last month.

With representatives from seven parties, the group met for the first time on June 16. The next meeting is scheduled for next Wednesday.

RANKED-CHOICE VOTING

Ranked voting, also known as ranked-choice voting or preferential voting, is any election voting system in which voters use a ranked (or preferential) ballot to select more than one candidate (or other alternative being voted on) and to rank these choices in a sequence on a scale of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

There are multiple ways in which the rankings can be counted to determine which candidate or candidates or other outcomes are elected, and these different methods may produce different results from the same set of ballots. Ranked voting is different from cardinal voting, where candidates are independently rated rather than ranked.

The term “ranked-choice voting” (RCV) is used by the US organization FairVote to refer to the use of ranked ballots with specific counting methods: either instant-runoff voting for single-winner elections or single transferable vote for multi-winner elections. In some locations, the term “preferential voting” is used to refer to this combination of ballot type and counting method, while in other locations this term has various more-specialized meanings.

Single Transferable Voting (STV) is categorized specifically as a voting system to resemble proportional representation through multiple constituencies rather than one. Since both STV and RCV hold similar processes, they are commonly used interchangeably. Those advocating for STV argue that since candidates of different parties can be written on the ballot, rather than from just one, all members of the government can be elected based upon their individual merits.

Voters also have the option to create connections with local candidates under STV, where constituencies can cover a smaller area, creating a local link, giving voters a choice of representatives to contact.

A ranked voting system collects more information from voters than the single-mark ballots currently used in most governmental elections, many of which use first-past-the-post and mixed-member proportional voting systems.