To the Editor:
Edwyn Shoemaker is right that ranked choice would give Boston voters more options and help rebuild trust (“Opinion: Ranked Choice— A better way to vote,” May 28). The Massachusetts Legislature should grant the home rule petitions of not only Boston but also the more than half a dozen other communities that want ranked choice voting.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) bolsters accountability by ensuring that elected leaders actually have to win the support of a majority of voters. With RCV, voters vote for their favorite and rank their backups. Voters know that if their first choice doesn’t win, their vote automatically counts for their next choice instead. This frees voters from worrying about how others will vote and which candidates are more or less likely to win.
RCV also benefits our civic discourse by encouraging candidates to identify areas of consensus in hopes of winning the second or third votes of their rivals. Candidates can have an honest, ideas-based debate, without fear of splitting the vote with like-minded individuals.
There’s a lot of renovation needed to ensure that politicians are more accountable to voters and that democracy delivers for its people. Ranked choice voting is an important part of the solution.
Jerren Chang is a resident of Dorchester and the president & CEO of Partners in Democracy.
