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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
Does ranked-choice voting increase voter turnout?
Wednesday, August 5, 2020
By Allegra Taylor
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YES
With ranked-choice voting, voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference rather than voting for one candidate. Maine has implemented the method statewide, and cities in eight other states now use it for local elections.
A 2016 study found that after cities adopted ranked-choice voting, voter turnout rose by eight percentage points. Ranked-choice elections eliminate primaries and runoffs, which have historically lower voter turnout than general elections.
One concern with the method is known as "ballot exhaustion," when a ballot is effectively thrown out when all of the candidates marked on the ballot are eliminated from the contest. In a study of four ranked-choice elections, ballot exhaustion rates ranged from 9.6% to 27.1%.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
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Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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