Professor McDaniel Comments on Ranked-Choice Voting

QUARTZ -- Ranked-choice voting is not without its critics. Jason McDaniel, a Political Science professor at San Francisco State University, argues that ranked-choice voting makes ballots too complicated for some voters, driving down participation. His research comparing voter turnout in San Francisco before and after the city adopted ranked-choice voting suggests declining participation among young voters, African Americans and less educated voters. It also may have increased the rate of ballots disqualified due to error — a trend that disproportionately affected votes by African Americans and the elderly in his study. “My conclusion is that, in San Francisco, ranked-choice voting widens the gulf between the haves and the have-nots when it comes to participating in the democratic process,” McDaniel writes in the Bangor Daily News.