| msn.com |
You may have seen some wild arguments against ballot Question 3, which will bring open primaries and ranked-choice voting to Nevada. Instead of breaking down these weak arguments, let’s reflect on why someone would oppose this initiative.
85% of Alaskans found ranked-choice voting simple.
Let me first tell you why I’m a huge advocate for open primaries and ranked-choice voting.
As a nonpartisan, my tax dollars pay for our elections. However, I have no say in who my governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state legislators and others will be. Instead, I’m forced to choose between the lesser of two evils year after year. A growing number, 700,000-plus, of nonpartisans and those who do not identify with either major party shows that I’m not alone.
Does that sound like a healthy democracy to you?
It’s a big reason why so many young people decide to sit out elections. They feel their vote doesn’t make a difference, and they’re not wrong. Congress has around a 20% approval rate, yet incumbents get reelected 94% of the time. This translates into no real accountability in our elections system. Those in power have made sure of that.
A major criticism of ranked-choice voting is that it’s too confusing. Those who have come out against it think Nevadans aren’t smart enough to figure out how RCV works between now and 2026, the year this measure would be implemented. This is wrong and it’s offensive. Eighty-five percent of Alaskans found ranked-choice voting “simple” in the 2022 special election.
This opinion column was submitted by Cesar Marquez, co-founder and director at Move Nevada Forward.