Op-Ed: Proposition One is a Jungle Primary with Ranked Choice Voting.
By Sue Gatston • October 8, 2024The following Op-Ed was submitted by Sue Gaston with the ConservativesOf organization. Op-Eds do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of those at the Idaho Dispatch.
Proposition One is a Jungle Primary with Ranked Choice voting.
For starters, have you seen a ballot with lists of 30-40 names on it all running for the same position? The primary ballot throws all candidates into a big swamp and tells the voter to figure it out. But, what comes next is the bigger surprise. Only the top 4 candidates move on to the General Election with a new ballot ranking system.
AdvertisementInstead of marking one bubble for one vote, you mark four bubbles, ranking 4 people from 1 to 4, regardless of ideals and platforms. (It could even be all Democrats or all Republicans in the top four General election). I’m surprised anyone, especially an unknown would want to jockey for a top 4 spot.
Lesser known Independents or Libertarians could be left out of the General election all together! Now, back to ranking. Voting for all 4 candidates forces someone to cast a vote for a candidate they may ideologically disagree with. For example, I’d have to vote for Harris, Trump, Smith and Johnson in order of ranking. If I don’t mark all 4 bubbles, my ballot gets thrown out of future rounds. In the first round, the last place person is eliminated, but here’s the rub, the computer redistributes those votes to the 3 that are left! This results in more than one vote per person.
The new results are based on how each person has ranked each candidate. If I don’t vote by ranking them all, my ballot does not recycle back in. It is thrown out. Votes continue to be re-distributed until someone gets over “50 percent”. But, here’s the other rub, the numbers required are reduced when the pool of ballots and candidates is reduced. (Percentages change because ballots and candidates are eliminated). It’s almost impossible to audit or hand count the process.
AdvertisementThis “new math” breaks several Idaho laws, besides the constitution, and will cost tens of millions of dollars because we don’t have the computer equipment with algorithms. The counties cannot tabulate their own results. It takes away the simplicity of one person, one vote with all counties participating.
It’s less secure, as ballots are transported to a single location where the results would be entered over and over. It’s no longer just adding up one vote, per person for a simple majority winner. Now, more bad news, rinse and repeat this process, if it gets approved for every office on the ballot!
So let’s simplify this convoluted explanation and keep one person, one vote. Vote NO on Proposition One. No ranking required.
Advertisement(Sue Gaston. ConservativesOf Idaho)
Tags: Donald Trump, Prop 1, Proposition 1, Ranked Choice Voting, Sue Gatston
7 thoughts on “Op-Ed: Proposition One is a Jungle Primary with Ranked Choice Voting.”
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Thus is a very good description of what will happen. I am a Precinct Alternate whi us working to educate voters on this before election. I appreciate Sue Gaston getting the info out there! Everyone who truly understands this process should vote NO!
My apology to you, Doris…I see our articles were just two minutes apart and mine was in no way referring to your post, but the first “post” which is nothing more than a collection of irritating gobbledygook.
Incidentally, as I have stated numerous times in previous articles relating to any proposition 1 coverage…my vote is, and shall remain, a firm NO on Prop 1!!!
Why is the above continuing to appear in articles on the Dispatch? It is obviously not an “opinion,” and even more obviously not an “editorial!” Is there no way to prevent this from being included at all on the content of these many articles?
I find it increasingly annoying…:-(
This isn’t an open primary. This makes voting complicated and confusing. It also comes with a huge price tag $20 -$40 Million dollars! Alaska is trying to repeal rank choice voting as it failed to accomplish what the voters there wanted. It created chaos and confusion. We should learn from Alaska. I’m a hard no on prop 1!
Idaho’s Proposition 1 — VOTE NO!!!!!
Many registered Republicans are falling for the Proposition 1 propaganda, taking the simple view of Prop 1 supporters that so-called “open primaries” — which actually are mosh-pit “jungle primaries” — give everyone a chance to participate regardless of party. And they seem to like the simplistic idea of ranking their top-four picks in the general election, not understanding (or even caring) that some people’s votes will count more than once and others not at all if one mosh-pit candidate from the “primary” fails to win a majority in the general.
Questions:
1. PRIMARY: Do you want other teams to pick your team’s captain and players? Or, put differently, do you want other ice cream afficionados to choose your ice cream club’s favorite? That’s what happens with jungle (top four) primaries.
2. GENERAL: Do you want to vote for your least favorites among four candidates knowing your least favorite could win? And if you don’t vote for your last choice, do you want your ballot to be thrown out (this could happen)?
SCENARIO:
Suppose that you hate mint pistachio ice cream and love chocolate. In the mosh-pit primary, everyone had to choose from among 31 flavors, some of which they had never tried before. The top 4 ended up being chocolate, vanilla, strawberry and mint pistachio.
Following the ranked choice general — which must be tabulated and audited by computers not people! — you could end up eating mint pistachio for the next two or four years.
Those who truly understand how bad Proposition 1 would be for Idaho must speak up. Talk with your friends and neighbors. This isn’t the time to be shy. Too much is at stake.
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