Ranked-choice voting could come to Illinois in 2028

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WIFR) – While more than a third of the country cast their 2024 primary ballots on Super Tuesday, a task force of Illinois lawmakers meets today in Springfield with their sights set on possible changes to the 2028 election.

Ranked-choice voting is already established in other states, like Alaska and Maine, but the system is in effect in 60 jurisdictions across 24 states.

Voters have the opportunity to rank the candidates from favorite to least favorite.

The election is over if one candidate has more than 50% of the first-place votes. If not, the candidate with the least votes is eliminated, and that candidate’s voters are moved to their second choice, continuing the process until someone gets majority support.

“There’s a big reason we’re always electing D’s & R’s. The system favors them. Whoever has the most votes wins and that favors the two major parties,” said St. Edwards University political science professor Brian Smith. “Any kind of reform like this is going to cut into their say.”

State Representative Maurice West is the co-chair of Illinois’ ranked-choice and voting systems task force. Although ranked-choice voting will not be put in place for this year’s election, West says the 2028 election could be a possibility.

“Ranked choice voting, in my words, is to ensure that your vote is counted, no matter what,” West said. “The ranked-choice voting that we are trying to implement here in the state of Illinois is focused on presidential primaries. We are working together with people on both sides of the aisle, we are collecting all the facts to see what the appetite is here in the state.”

Although West feels ranked-choice voting has advantages, he says it also has disadvantages, like updates to voting machines and informing state residents of what the system is and how it differs from the process we use now.

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