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Study: Smarter Voting Methods Make a Difference

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Under approval voting, Gary Johnson received 21-percent approval, about seven times more than the percentage of votes he received under plurality voting;

Under approval voting, Jill Stein received 11-percent approval, about 11 times more than votes she received under plurality voting;

Everyone in the study who responded under approval voting supported their honest favorite candidate;

Plurality voting forced more than 5 percent of voters to choose a candidate that wasn't their actual favorite;

More than 7 percent of voters who responded under instant-runoff voting/ranked-choice voting ranked a candidate first who wasn't their actual favorite, a phenomenon known as "favorite betrayal."

The election system used in the United States today allows voters to cast a vote for one candidate in a given race, a system known as plurality voting. Plurality voting is problematic for numerous reasons. Plurality voting:

Discourages quality candidates from running for fear of being labeled a "spoiler";

Distorts support for third-party candidates, keeping them from debates and media;

Normalizes draconian, partisan laws restricting ballot access;

Encourages partisan winners.

The continued use of the plurality voting system is a major culprit behind the unfairness in our elections.

"Plurality voting changes who wins because of vote splitting between similar candidates," Hamlin said. "Fewer people vote because they're afraid of throwing their vote away, or they don't like the 'lesser-of-two-evils' dilemma."

The Center for Election Science advocates for the use of better voting methods, particularly methods that give voters better options and allow them to be more honest on their ballots. Voters should never have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

Learn more about the Center for Election Science as it releases more of its analysis from the 2016 presidential election, and how the implementation of better voting methods can give voters better options and better results at Electology.org.

Published articles:

https://electology.org/blog/smarter-elections-2016-approval-versus-plurality

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Board Chair of The Center for Election Science (www.electology.org)
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Study: Smarter Voting Methods Make a Difference

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