As the 2024 presidential campaign is shaping up now in the summer of 2023, we are already hearing whining from Democrats about the “spoiler effect” of a potential Green Party candidate such as Cornel West. Yet in New York (and many other states) the Democrats have had ample time to eliminate the possibility of a spoiler effect by enacting Ranked Choice (Instant Runoff) Voting. In fact, the Democrats have had complete “Trifecta” control of the state government for 7 years out of the last 15 years!.
Ranked Choice Voting is a much more advanced form of democracy than the primitive “first past the post” or plurality system. The voter can rank candidates in order of preference; if their first choice is eliminated, then their vote passes on to their second choice, and so on. Ultimately the winner of the election will be a candidate that has at least some support from at least +50% of voters.
Senate Bill S5259 is kicking around in the NY Senate. It is in committee, and even if it somehow passes and is signed into law, it will not introduce Ranked Choice Voting into elections, it will only cause the state’s Board of Elections to study the issue!
When I wrote to our Assemblyperson, Anna Kelles, and our state Senator, Lea Webb, to urge them, in all haste — given the upcoming election cycle — to enact Ranked Choice Voting, I received absolutely no response. Clearly the Democrats in New York (and in almost every other state) have little interest in eliminating the “spoiler effect”. After all, they are on their seventh year of complete control of the state government, and have also had complete control of the federal government during lengthy spans of time.
So Democrats, kindly STFU about the “spoiler effect” when we vote for a great candidate instead of the “lesser evil”!