Ranked Choice Voting: A Solution for Political Polarization?

Thanks to this recent presidential election, I understand the Civil War a bit better—not the politics, but the family divisiveness. Growing up, I once marveled at how once loving families were torn apart by the conflict of the war. But now, I see how families could have brothers, where one fought for the Union Army, one fought for the Confederate Army and both could be willing to kill each other over politics. I asked myself, “Don’t people raised in the same family share the same values? Or are we doomed to keep destroying families, businesses, friends, and our culture over bipartisan polarization? Is there another way?”

I ask myself these things because I’m not sure my family will survive this election or the tensions it is creating. My parents are Republican and my brothers and I are Democrats. Dinner used to be a great time to talk and share news about our days together. Now political debates at the dinner table have turned into tense exchanges about politics, and who won the election. The debates discredit each other’s beliefs when we disagree. They leave us feeling disconnected and angry at each other. Where there was once laughing and joking around our table, there are now only tense words and harsh looks. It deeply saddens me to see this kind of divisiveness around people that I love.

I believe the solution to this polarization in my family, and the country, is to encourage the inclusion of other political parties. Having a diverse body of political opinions may help Americans become more modest about their beliefs, which subsequently will alleviate tensions, especially in families.

America’s polarizing political climate has affected all Americans. We’ve turned into caricatures of the Democrat or Republican stereotype. People don’t see us for what we love, our values, who we are, or our sense of humor. They see only which political party we support. They presume if we don’t agree with their political affiliation that we’re evil, ignorant, or uninformed and not worth associating with. And people wonder why teen and adult suicides are climbing. Polarization pits people at each other. Your political affiliation, Democrat or Republican, not your character is what defines how others see you.

Some of my liberal friends distance themselves from people who hold conservative beliefs, even if they would be friends based on everything else in their lives. One of my friends said that Republicans were “disgusting.” My conservative friends also react negatively when liberals voice their opinions on issues.

Political polarization is on the increase in our country, having far reaching consequences for work, emotional support, and a civil society. I worry about our country, but I worry more about my family. How far will our disagreements separate us as family?

I believe the answer to why we have a polarization crisis is America’s bipartisan system. I think the solution is ranked-choice voting. Ranked choice allows voters to rank candidates by preference, meaning they can submit ballots that list not only their first-choice candidate for a position, but also their second, third and so on. The main reason as to why third parties are undermined in election results is that each voter has only one vote. With ranked-choice voting, a voter ranks candidates on a ballot from most favorite to least favorite. After all of the ballots are accumulated, the candidate that gains the most overall support wins the election. Through this system, a voter can freely express their political support in the election without the worry that their vote is an outlier. No longer does the voter have to “Settle for Biden.” By facilitating diverse political input during the election, perhaps America will no longer just be red or blue.