A non-partisan, grassroots organization, Rank MI Vote was founded in 2019 to promote ranked-choice voting (RCV) in Michigan. The organization believes the implementation of RCV in Michigan would help reduce stress for voters, increase voter turnout, and help defuse political tensions. Rank MI Vote held a presentation to promote RCV in the Dutmers Theater at NMC’s Dennos Museum on Nov. 19, to garner support for a petition they hope to take to Lansing to amend the Michigan constitution. 

​

The premise of RCV is that voters would get more choices when it comes to voting. On the ballot, voters rank the candidates from whom they want to win, most to least. If the ballots are tallied and no candidate has a majority, whoever has the fewest votes has their ballots redistributed to other candidates, based on the ranking decided by the voter, until one person has a majority. Currently, Maine and Alaska use RCV, in addition to New York City, Minneapolis, and San Francisco, for some municipal elections. Rank MI Vote believes that because a candidate will be winning by a majority, the population they represent will be happier with them in office. 

​

Rank MI Vote believes that Michigan’s voting system would dramatically change for the better with the implementation of RCV. Rank MI Vote’s website states that “Today, Michigan’s election rules prevent local ballots from using Ranked Choice Voting, even in the five municipalities (Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Ferndale, Kalamazoo, and Royal Oak) that have voted in favor of implementing it.” Michigan currently does not have any legislation for or against RCV, meaning it cannot be implemented until there is. Because of this, Rank MI Vote’s goal is to gather a petition with 446,198 valid signatures to get RCV on the November 2026 ballot, hopefully creating an amendment to the Michigan constitution allowing the use of RCV. Additionally, they hold that amending the constitution itself would give RCV longevity in Michigan because it cannot be as easily removed when terms end, and there is a shift in political party control.

​

With the implementation of RCV, a few things will change. First, RCV would be used state-wide for the election of the US President, the US Senate & House, the Michigan Governor, Michigan Attorney General, and Michigan Secretary of State. Second, the date of the primaries would be moved closer to the beginning of the year to allow voters and clerks more time to prepare. Finally, it would change voting as we know it for younger generations. Joe Spaulding, the campaign director for Rank MI Vote, believes that these changes will give voters more freedom at the polls, and consequently, they will see a larger voter turnout. Spaulding said, “We are trying to give voters more choice and more voice”.

​

Despite the efforts of Rank MI Vote, a poll done by Glengariff Group Inc. found 53.9% of survey participants from Michigan strongly oppose RCV, with majorities in opposition from both Democrats and Republicans. Many other projects and organizations, like Honest Election Project and StopRCV, believe that RCV may cause gaps in ballot integrity if adopted. Additionally, on Aug. 20, House Bill 4707, which would ban the use of RCV in Michigan, passed through the State House and was sent to the Senate. After reaching the Senate, the bill was sent to the Election and Ethics Committee for consideration. When asked for comment on this, Spaulding said that Rank MI Vote does not expect any further action from the committee, and the organization sees it as an injustice to citizens of Michigan because the bill was not brought forward by citizens, but pushed through the House by State Rep. Rachelle. 

​

“Ranked Choice Voting, with its rounds of counting and reallocation, only breeds skepticism—especially when every close contest invites lawsuits and recount battles. Michigan doesn’t need ballot-box gymnastics. We need integrity, clarity, and confidence, which are all qualities Ranked-Choice Voting cannot deliver,” said Smit. 

Michigan House Republicans added that another significant downside to implementing RCV is that it would have a steep cost, upwards of 10 of millions of dollars. In contrast, Rank MI Vote claims that the machines currently used for tabulation are capable of counting RCV ballots, only requiring “Minor software upgrades and state certification are all that’s needed for implementation.”

​

Rank MI Vote has continued to keep college-age adults in mind when pushing for RCV implementation. Spaulding reports that when looking for volunteers, they have seen a much more diverse demographic of people wanting to help the organization than what you would typically expect. They have been surprised by the number of young men who have gotten involved with the program. Spaulding thinks this is because young people are willing to fight for this change because they want a better future with more options.