Ranked Choice Voting in Australia and America

Do Voters Follow Party Cues

Bibliographic Data

ID13053683
AuthorsBenjamin Reilly (0000-0001-9187-6064, The University of Western Australia, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume9
Issue2
Pages271-279
Publication date2021-06-15
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitics and Governance (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2183-2463 • E-ISSN: 2183-2463
PublisherCogitatio (PUBLISHER • PT)
DOI10.17645/pag.v9i2.3889
OpenAlexW3166752228
LanguageEN
Citations received9
References cited12

Ranked choice voting (RCV) is experiencing a surge of interest in the United States, highlighted by its 2018 use for Congressional elections in Maine, the first application of a ranked ballot for national-level elections in American history. A century ago, the same system was introduced in another federal, two-party continental-sized democracy: Australia. RCV’s utility as a solution to inter-party coordination problems helps to explain its appeal in both countries, underscoring the potential benefits of a comparative analytical approach. This article examines this history of adoption and then turns to a comparison of recent RCV elections in Maine with state elections in New South Wales and Queensland, the two Australian states which share the same form of RCV as that used in the United States. This comparison shows how candidate and party endorsements influence voters’ rankings and can, over time, promote reciprocal exchanges between parties and broader systemic support for RCV. Such cross-partisan support helps explain the stability of RCV in Australia, with implications for the system’s prospects in the United States

Appeal · Ballot · Democracy · Economics · Group voting ticket · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Primary election · Reciprocal · State (computer science · Voting · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research

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