MICHIGAN: Ranked Choice Voting Hordes Want to Make This State Their Next Victim
The RCV movement is determined to destroy democracy in every state. Right now, they have their sights on Michigan
Liberal elitists seeking to hack elections through ranked choice voting (RCV) are trying to eliminate primaries and bring their democracy-smashing scheme to Michigan.
A group called Rank MI Vote has launched a ballot initiative to amend Michigan’s constitution in 2026 to mandate RCV for federal and state elections and allow local jurisdictions to adopt it. So far, only Alaska and Maine have adopted this costly, convoluted, anti-democratic system statewide, and in Maine, it only applies to federal elections.
What is Ranked-Choice Voting and Why Is It Bad for Democracy?
Ranked-choice voting is a system in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate secures a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters’ next preferences are redistributed. This process continues until a candidate achieves a majority.
Proponents argue it eliminates “spoiler” candidates and ensures winners have broader support. But one of the benefits of America’s democratic system is that it allows “spoiler” candidates to win if they work hard enough to mobilize their supporters. These grassroots candidates often lack the time or resources to build the name recognition needed to secure second or third-choice rankings. Well-funded incumbents and establishment figures backed by economic elites typically do. In this way, RCV rewards mediocrity.
Another reason RCV is anti-democratic is that it’s a confusing, expensive system.
Many voters don’t understand it even years after implementation. If they vote the normal way, then only their first choice gets counted, and those who understand the RCV system and rank down ballot have more sway when the vote counts go to multiple rounds. This complexity can discourage participation, as seen in Alaska, where voter turnout in 2022 dropped to 51 percent, the lowest since 1976, largely due to RCV’s confusing process.
RCV is expensive because it requires states to spend taxpayer dollars on new voting technology, voter education campaigns, and extended training for poll workers, who must also be paid for longer hours to manage the complex tabulation process. This comes out of tax coffers, not from the billionaires pushing the scheme on states.
Speaking of which, despite claims that it’s a grassroots effort to make democracy better, RCV has been consistently bankrolled by a cadre of liberal elitists who don’t like democracy that much. It offers these economic elites the chance to buy elections more cheaply because of the advantages RCV gives consensus-driven liberal candidates. That means outside of uber leftist enclaves, far-left candidates don’t stand much of a chance; but neither do non-mushy, non-Chamber of Commerce-style Republicans.
Organizations like FairVote, a Maryland-based group that also wants to abolish the Electoral College, and Unite America, funded by Kathryn Murdoch and former Enron trader John Arnold, have poured millions into RCV campaigns across states like Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado. In Alaska, pro-RCV groups outspent opponents 100–1, yet voters only narrowly voted to keep RCV in 2024, signaling widespread discontent with the system despite carpetbaggers carpet bombing the airwaves.
The ultimate goal of RCV is to establish a liberal technocracy that keeps “fringe” candidates like President Donald Trump from winning.
RELATED: Democrats’ Closing Vow: End Elections As We Know Them)
Rank MI Vote’s RCV Push and Questionable Nonpartisanship
Rank MI Vote draws inspiration from the 2018 Voters Not Politicians (VNP) petition, which established Michigan’s independent redistricting commission, according to Rank MI Vote Executive Director Pat Zabawa. Rank MI Vote Campaign Director Joe Spaulding previously worked as a lead field strategist for VPN.
VNP brands itself as nonpartisan, but its history shows otherwise.
In 2016, radical environmentalist and Hilary Clinton supporter Katie Fahey founded VNP to counter Republican redistricting, drawing support from some of the largest “dark money” mega donors on the Left. They included the National Education Association, the Tides Foundation, and the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a front group for the Left’s ultimate “dark money” monster, Arabella Advisors.
A 2017 Detroit News story revealed seven of ten VNP petition committee board members donated a combined $5,649 to Democratic candidates and causes since 2005, while none supported Republicans.
Connections to FairVote and Rank the Vote
Rank MI Vote is also allied with national RCV advocacy organizations like FairVote and the Massachusetts-based Rank the Vote.
FairVote frequently amplifies Rank MI Vote’s efforts in its news updates, and Rank MI Vote’s website cites a FairVote study claiming overwhelming exit poll support for RCV.
Rank the Vote provided direct support to Rank MI Vote during 2023 RCV ballot wins in three Michigan cities. On its website, Rank the Vote stated, “We’re honored to have worked beside the wonderful people at Rank MI Vote along with our national partners Black Voters Matter Fund, Business for Democracy, FairVote, Movement Labs, RepresentWomen, RepresentUs, Unite America, the incredible Katie Fahey, and more.”
Rank the Vote’s Ohio chapter also featured Zabawa as a speaker at its 2024 statewide meeting.
Rank the Vote’s largest donor is Unite America Institute (UAI), a self-described centrist organization that turned its attention to RCV after wasting money on Independent candidates. Unite America is funded largely by DAFgiving360, the Qaudriuvium Foundation; and Home Depot co-founder and former Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank’s foundation.
DAFgiving360 is a donor advised fund, popular for donors’ ability to give large sums anonymously to controversial organizations. The leftist Quadrivium Foundation was founded and is supported by James and Kathryn Murdoch. Kathryn also sits on the board of UAI and donated $3.8 million to it in 2019. Blank is longtime Democratic Party mega donor.
Michigan Republicans Fight Back
Michigan Republicans are not sitting idly by as Rank MI Vote pushes RCV. In response, GOP state representatives have introduced HB 4707, which would to ban RCV statewide.
“Michigan doesn’t need ballot-box gymnastics,” bill sponsor Rep. Rachelle Smit stated. “We need integrity, clarity, and confidence, which are all qualities Ranked Choice Voting cannot deliver.”
In Alaska, RCV enabled Rep. Mary Peltola (D) to win in 2022 despite receiving fewer first-choice votes than Republican candidates. In a swing-state like Michigan, RCV could easily undermine voter intent by electing a president in a close election because of second and third choice votes.
Michigan stands at a crossroads as Rank MI Vote pushes to implement RCV through this initiative. RCV proponents claim it promotes fairness and majority consensus. In reality, its complexity, cost, and tendency to favor establishment candidates make it undemocratic. Rank Mi Vote’s ties to VNP erode its credibility as a nonpartisan effort. Its allyship with dark money-funded national RCV groups further erode its credibility as a grassroots effort.
Michiganders must remain vigilant to protect their electoral integrity to ensure the voters’ first-choice candidates are not eliminated by a system that disenfranchises people through complexity and institutional advantage.
READ MORE: Voters Roundly Reject Ranked-Choice Voting Despite Millions from Megadonors)
