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Bill Description
AN ACT relating to elections; clarifying that elections shall not be conducted by ranked choice voting; clarifying that ballots are required to specify only one (1) vote per office to be filled; and providing for an effective date.
Notes
HB165 is an important bill that protects the rights of Wyomingites to vote for, and only for, candidates of their choice that aligns with their values. It accomplishes this by prohibiting Ranked Choice Voting in Wyoming which, if allowed, would be extremely dangerous for our election process.
Specifically, HB165 establishes that nothing in Wyoming election code shall be deemed to authorize any election in Wyoming to be conducted through Ranked Choice Voting. It also states that any existing or future ordinance enacted or adopted by a county, municipality or any other governmental entity that purports to authorize ranked choice voting in violation of this subsection is void.
The bill defines,"ranked choice voting" as a voting method that allows voters to rank candidates for an office in order of preference and has ballots cast to be tabulated in multiple rounds following the elimination of a candidate until the candidate or candidates with the most votes are declared winners, or any other system that allows a voter to vote for more than the number of candidates permitted to fill a particular office.
Ranked Choice Voting is gaining steam in Blue states across America.
But conservative states across the country are waking up to the dangers
of RCV as voters in the following Red states have already rejected RCV:
Idaho, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Missouri, South Dakota, Montana, Arizona
The RCV Lobby, hailing from progressive strongholds, has spent over $150 million dollars in the 2022-2024 elections alone trying to advance their agenda.Why is it important to keep Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) out of Wyoming? Because it results in numerous problems, including:
- Say goodby to one person one vote: If you chose the winning candidate in an RCV system - congratulations. If you didn't, don't worry - your new votes in round two, three or four may help push a candidate across the finish line. Because RCV re-tabulates votes each round, your support can shift, giving some voters multiple opportunities to pick a winner. This is in direct conflict with the principle of "one person, one vote."
- Numerous studies have shown RCV leads to major confusion and lower voter turnout
- RCV encourages a heavy increase in the amount of candidates that run in every race. Because voters would be required to rank every race, they would want to know and study the positions of every candidate or not know which way to vote on some candidates. Imagine a race of 12-15 candidates. Could voters adequately determine the policy positions of all of them to properly rank their choice?
- Because of the complicated tabulation process, many RCV election results are not available on Election Day. Depending on the number of candidates, they may not even be available Election week.