2020 is a presidential election year, and most of us are likely already tired of politicians.
This May, we’ll cast our primary votes, and a predictable process will happen again at the county, state and federal levels. Democrats and Republicans will have an extreme candidate and one or more moderate candidates. The most extreme candidate will win their party’s primary, perhaps with less than 50% of the vote.
When we come to November, a small minority of people will find a candidate they truly like. Most voters will be faced with two candidates they don’t like, and perhaps a third-party candidate they know won’t win. Rather than vote for someone they think will make a good leader, they’ll vote for the person most likely to defeat the extremist candidate they despise. If there are three or more people running for a seat, the winner will be one that most people didn’t vote for. As a result, most people will feel everyone in office doesn’t represent them, and in a way, they’re right. The people we elect are often people that most of the voters didn’t want.
This doesn’t have to continue.
Indiana can implement Fair Vote. Voters would rank their votes from most desirable to least and may decide not to vote for some candidates. This is called “Ranked Choice Voting.” We would have no need for primary voting, as multiple people from the same party could be on the same ballot without hurting the chances of their fellow party members. We could expand districts and have multiple representatives from a new larger district that is harder to gerrymander. Republicans in Bloomington and Indianapolis would have a candidate that represents them, as would Democrats in Jennings and Jackson counties.
We must stop using the excuse of “we’ve always done it this way” to defend our awful form of elections. Let’s move forward and give everyone in Indiana a voice, which will improve the quality of our government.
Please, learn more by going to fairvote.org, and demand your candidates support it.
