TOPEKA (KSNT) — A Kansas lawmaker is pushing back on the state’s ban of ranked choice voting.
The system allows voters to rank the candidates on their ballot based on preference. In March, the legislature passed Senate Bill 6, which prohibited the use of ranked choice voting in all Kansas elections.
“The Kansas Democratic Party used ranked choice voting in the 2020 presidential primary, and even though they say it’s complicated, it turns out people seemed to understand how to use their ballot,” Senator Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, told Nexstar’s Kansas Capitol Bureau on Monday.
Marci was one of 10 senators, mostly democrats, who voted not to ban ranked choice voting in Kansas.
Those in favor of a ban on ranked choice voting say that the system makes the voting process more complicated. Additionally, it can be difficult to implement due to high costs associated with updating voting machine software.
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However, those against a ban believe ranked choice voting is the best way to find the most popular candidate in any given election. They believe it also helps third party candidates who are often not represented in a one choice voting system.
13 other states have banned ranked choice voting, and all bans have taken effect within the past 4 years.
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