The case for the implementation of ranked-choice voting is a simple one. To have the most democratic elections possible, Albuquerque needs ranked-choice voting.
As local voters prepare to head to the polls this November for Albuquerque’s municipal elections, many wonder if the system still truly works for them and advocates for the issues they care about. According to Pew Research Center polling, trust in American government and institutions has faced a steady decline since 1964 — regardless of which political party is in control of the government — highlighting the need to focus our efforts on giving citizens more of a voice and a choice in the people who govern them.
As both parties turn to gerrymandering to try and squeeze out as many congressional seats as they can — like in states such as California and Texas, and others that are making progress at redistricting, according to PBS News — we need to defy the trend and instead embrace a more democratic system. There needs to be a large public pushback against these undemocratic practices, and what better way to do that than actually implement policies that give constituents more representation and decrease the mudslinging that most elections invariably devolve into?
According to the New York City Board of Elections, ranked-choice voting is a system where voters select the candidates in order of preference. Then, if no candidate receives a majority of votes to win the election, the candidate with the lowest vote share is eliminated, and their second-place votes are reallocated. This process is repeated until one candidate surpasses the 50% threshold.
This is opposed to our current system, in which a voter only votes for a single candidate, which may not even be their first choice but a more viable candidate who they consider “the lesser of two evils,” a voter might claim. In the current system, if no candidate reaches 50% of the vote, then a runoff election will be held in which the candidate with the most votes will be elected mayor, according to the Charter of the City of Albuquerque.
The successes of ranked-choice voting have already been shown as a success in the few places in the U.S. where it is used.
The most obvious example is the recent Democratic primary election in New York City. The voting system led to a phenomenon rarely seen in any form of politics — candidates endorsing each other, imploring their supporters to rank candidates with similar values in their second and third-place slots.
The New York Democratic primary did still have plenty of negative attacks and personal jabs — especially involving former Governor Andrew Cuomo — but those are customary and even necessary when seeking office. The true uniqueness came in the form of candidates campaigning together, forming coalitions and encouraging their voters to rank other candidates.
In the primary, Zohran Mamdani had cross-endorsements with both Brad Lander and Adrienne Adams, a phenomenon rarely, if ever, seen in the Albuquerque mayoral races. This was made possible because the system of voting allowed voters to pick more than just one candidate.
Ranked-choice voting isn’t new to New Mexico. Our second-largest city, Las Cruces, and our state capital, Santa Fe, both utilize ranked-choice voting for their local and municipal elections. It is time for Albuquerque to join these cities and implement ranked-choice voting for its city elections.
It has been nearly seven years since the first election using ranked-choice voting was held in New Mexico, and elections have been held without issue since. If the state's largest city were to implement the system, then it would spread wider knowledge that there is a better way to conduct our elections and perhaps even spur other New Mexican cities to adopt similar policies or make more progress for a statewide initiative.
The main argument against ranked-choice voting, like the one being used by Republicans in the Michigan State Legislature, is that it will confuse voters and add a barrier of difficulty that must be surpassed in order to cast a vote. And that is a fair argument, as of course, everything should be done to ensure that people can cast their vote without facing any additional restrictions: it is our nation's founding principle and continual struggle to ensure a representative government for and by the people.
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However, simply asking voters to rank their chosen candidates should hardly be considered confusing, and in fact, I would call it demeaning to the American voters to suggest that they cannot simply list their preferred candidates. There are also already countless initiatives to help people in the voting booth. People can ask a poll worker for assistance or view information on candidates in their local elections from sources such as sample ballots provided by their local officials or organizations such as Ballotpedia or the League of Women Voters.
Implementing ranked-choice voting would be a simple, positive, democratic change that would drastically improve our city elections in a political climate filled with divisive language, constant personal attacks, and party/herd behavior that creates an us-versus-them mentality in politics, rather than a government that works for and benefits the people.
Jaden McKelvey-Francis is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on X @jadenmckelvey
