Advocates for ranked-choice voting have picked up a crucially important ally. The New York Times, which has one of the most influential editorial pages in the country, delivered a full-throated endorsement Thursday for the most popular alternative to the current voting system.
Under the simple headline "The Primaries Are Just Dumb," the Times laid out a compelling case for both political partied to embrace RCV in their presidential primaries four years from now.
Calling it a "straightforward and elegant solution," the editorial board argued that ranked-choice voting would guarantee that presidential nominees enjoy support from a majority of the primary voters, would increase civility in elections and would encourage candidates to reach beyond their core supporters.
"It is effective in any multicandidate race, but it's ideal for making sense of a large and fractured pool of candidates," the paper said.
This is not the first time the Times has backed RCV, but on this occasion the editorial board is making the case for a national rollout to replace the current system for selecting presidential nominees. In October, the Times endorsed an ultimately successful ballot initiative to install RCV for future city elections in the Big Apple.
Angela Ferrell-Zabala, the executive director of Moms Demand Action!, speaks at the Mother’s Day of Action Rally held in Atlanta on May 13, 2023. COURTESY ANGELA FERRELL-ZABALA
Destine Riggins says she was the only photographer at the various West Jefferson, NC racial justice protests she attended and documented, such as this 2020 march. (VICKI RANDOLPH)
Protest leaders give speeches during a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in West Jefferson, NC where Queue Wellington also worked as a leader in the local racial justice movement. (DESTINE RIGGINS)