Dear John,

Yesterday afternoon, Chris Christie dropped out of the presidential race. His departure follows intense pressure from prominent critics of Donald Trump urging Christie to drop out to avoid splitting the anti-Trump vote.

Read on to learn what polling says about the state of the race, and how ranked choice voting (RCV) would let voters decide – instead of party elites – while freeing candidates from accusations of “playing spoiler.”

Who benefits now that Chris Christie dropped out?

We don’t need to wait for new polls to answer this question. A growing number of ranked choice polls ask voters upfront who their second choice would be if their favorite candidate leaves the race.

For instance, a WPA Intelligence/FairVote poll released in October finds that a majority of Chris Christie voters favor Nikki Haley as a backup choice. Other recent polls have found the same thing. Donald Trump still has a large lead nationally, but Christie’s supporters could put Haley and Trump neck-and-neck in the crucial state of New Hampshire.

Read more about the state of the race on FairVote’s blog.

Ranked choice voting prevents “wasted votes”

Despite Christie’s withdrawal, his name will still appear on the ballot in New Hampshire and other states where ballot deadlines have passed. This can lead to “wasted votes” cast by voters unaware that Christie has dropped out. 700,000 Republican primary voters cast wasted votes in 2016, and three million Democratic primary voters did so in 2020.

Instead of allowing wasted votes, states should implement ranked choice voting and let voters rank candidates on their ballots. If a candidate drops out, voters who selected that candidate will have their vote count for their highest-ranked candidate who is still active. 

RCV would give more voters a voice in the nomination process, and prevent wasted votes in a crowded and volatile field of candidates.

Ranked choice voting mitigates the “spoiler effect”

Chris Christie’s experience isn’t unique: In election after election, candidates are pressured to drop out so their supporters can consolidate around a more electable candidate. Voters are accused by friends and family of “throwing their vote away” on a longshot option.

Fortunately, the choice between picking your favorite candidate and an electable candidate is a false one. With ranked choice voting, you can do both. As former state GOP party chairs Saul Anuzis and Stan Lockhart wrote in Real Clear Politics this week:

Letting more candidates run instead of pushing them to drop out would also mean more of the party's best and brightest traveling, speaking at events, and spreading the party’s message. That would lead to a stronger nominee heading into the general election.

It’s not just conservatives asking for ranked choice voting, though. A new report from the Center for American Progress highlights the power of RCV and proportional RCV to make government work better:

Ranked choice voting’s biggest year yet

The good news is, ranked choice voting is already catching on in presidential elections. Maine and Alaska will use it for their presidential general elections this year. Democrats in Alaska and Wyoming, Republicans in the Virgin Islands, and Mainers of both parties will be able to use it in their presidential primaries. 

As the primaries approach, follow FairVote’s news and analysis page for the latest updates on how RCV improves elections for Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike!

Sincerely,
Deb Otis
FairVote Action Director of Research and Policy