The Left has been creating chaos in the ranks of voting for many years. The 2020 election was rife with very questionable choices by polling location, including the City of Philadelphia just deciding to stop counting votes entirely at 11 pm Eastern Time on election night. It has birthed conspiracy theories, and anger among many people, and rightfully so.
The chaos of 2020 has awoken many people to some unethical strategies the Democrats utilize to get votes and stay in power. But chaos is something the Left likes and keeps finding more ways to cause it. Now the liberal idea of 'ranked choice voting' is being considered by the City of Dallas. In short, the idea is known as instant run-off voting. It allows candidates to be ranked on preference, with the first one to a majority getting the win.
Proponents of the idea say it is a cost-efficient method that avoids more money being spent on run-off elections. But Andy Hogue with the Travis County GOP says this is just another way for Democrats to throw wrenches into the gears of democracy.
"It is a way to push more progressive candidates and create a large ballot...they thrive in this confusion...they want more challengers to water down the establishment," he says.
Another Texas city has already made their efforts at the idea, with Austin approving it in 2021. However, city officials said they could not implement the change due to the state's election laws.
While it may be a surprise to some to see Dallas as a potential liberal guinea pig, it is not a shock. Dallas has been progressively more left leaning in the last few years, and now can slide even further over as they look for a new mayor.
But what is it that makes this idea so bad? According to Hogue, it is because of the aforementioned chaos, and confusion.
"The strategy is to get coalitions of candidates at the first level...they want to water down the base of each competing constituency...that is what ranked choice has done anywhere it has been tried," he says. "It is a confusing ballot and does not help the voter...it just confuses them more."
Indeed, the idea has been tried in entire states. Maine and Alaska were two of the first ones to do so. But there has been virtually zero positive feedback from the idea, and it has not been pitched many other places.
While it might be concerning that this idea has made it to a major Texas city like Dallas, there is very little chance Governor Greg Abbott would allow it to do much further.
"They will just find a way to circumvent it...even if it gets tried in Dallas, I think it is just another year until the legislative session starts, and gets rid of it," Hogue says. "I do not ever see it taking hold in Texas, at least not in the modern era."
The Dallas City Council will hear a report on the idea, and consider its potential approval, at their May 21st meeting.
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