Here’s a question Nevada Republicans should probably be asking: Why would any conservative Republican support ranked choice voting?
Seriously.
Ranked choice voting – often referred to as “Rigged” Choice Voting by conservatives – is one of those ideas that sounds clever in a political science classroom.
But out in the real world? Voters hate it. And conservatives hate it even more.
Which makes something a little awkward.
One of the candidates running in the Republican primary for Nevada State Treasurer, Drew Johnson, co-authored a policy study in 2022 promoting ranked choice voting.
Yes. That ranked choice voting.
The same system Nevada voters rejected at the ballot box in 2024.
Johnson’s paper, published by the R Street Institute, argues that ranked choice voting could “improve presidential primaries” and lead to “more representative results.”
That might sound impressive inside a Washington think tank. But Nevada voters had a different opinion.
They killed it.
Now let’s be clear about the timeline. Johnson wrote the paper in 2022. That was before the ballot fight here in Nevada. So this column isn’t claiming he ignored voters.
The question is bigger than that.
Why would any Republican support this idea in the first place? Especially one claiming to be a conservative.
Because ranked choice voting isn’t some neutral little tweak to the system. It’s a massive overhaul of how elections work.
Instead of voting for one candidate, voters rank candidates first, second, third, and so on.
If nobody gets a majority, the lowest candidate is eliminated and votes get redistributed again and again until someone crosses 50 percent.
Which means the person who gets the most votes on election night might actually lose later…after the algorithm finishes doing math.
Try explaining that to voters. “Congratulations… the guy who finished first actually lost.”
Yeah. That’ll build confidence. And that’s exactly why conservatives across the country oppose it.
Polling shows Republican voters overwhelmingly distrust ranked choice voting.
A 2023 Rasmussen survey found just 27 percent of Republicans support ranked choice voting while 56 percent oppose it.
Even many independents aren’t sold on it.
And here’s another reason conservatives are skeptical.
Ranked choice voting often benefits political moderates, coalition candidates, or candidates who aren’t voters’ first choice but become the “least disliked” option.
Translation: Candidates nobody actually wanted.
If you want proof, look at places like Alaska where the system has produced some very strange results.
That’s why Democrats and election reform groups love it. It gives losing coalitions a second chance to rearrange the math.
Now to be fair, Johnson’s study claims ranked choice voting solves the problem of “wasted votes” when candidates drop out during presidential primaries.
That may sound great on paper. But conservatives tend to prefer something far simpler.
One person. One vote. Count the votes. The candidate with the most wins. Done.
No algorithms. No rounds. No recalculations. No election night suspense that lasts three days while bureaucrats run spreadsheets.
Drew Johnson is now running for statewide office as a “conservative Republican.” And when you step into that arena, your ideas matter. Especially your ideas about elections.
Nevada voters just rejected ranked choice voting. Republican voters oppose it by huge margins. So the questions for Drew now is simple:
If ranked choice voting is such a great idea, why do conservative Republicans hate it? And why would any self-proclaimed conservative Republican support it in the first place?
Those are fair questions. And Republican primary voters deserve clear answers from Mr. Johnson.
The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology was used in the research, writing, and production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
