Ranked Choice Voting
UAWD Priority resolution for
the UAW Constitutional Convention
Ranked Choice Voting
Constitutional Amendment
On Monday, the UAW Monitor will be presenting delegates with two options on how to implement One Member, One Vote: ranked choice voting (also known as “instant run-off” voting) or a traditional run-off election. Ranked choice voting is more democratic and will save our membership time & money.
Background
- Ranked choice voting, also known as “instant run-off” voting, means that the UAW will not have to hold a separate run-off election months after the general election if no candidate gets a majority of the vote. The election would conclude in December 2022.
- In a traditional run-off election, if the top candidate gets less than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates proceed to a run-off months later. In that event, the election wouldn’t conclude until March 2023.
- We already know there will be more than 2 candidates for UAW President. Without ranked choice voting, it is possible that we’ll have a run-off election.
How does ranked choice voting work?
- Members rank their preferred candidates for each position, and only one round of voting is required.
- If your top choice candidate (your #1) doesn’t make the run-off, your vote automatically goes to the candidate you ranked #2. If that candidate also doesn’t make the run-off, your vote goes to the candidate you ranked #3, and so on.
- With RCV, there’s no gaming the system—you get to vote for who you really want, while also making sure your vote counts.
Opposition from the Administration Caucus
- A traditional run-off election in March will distract from crucial contract negotiations in 2023.
- The months between December & March are cold. In a traditional run-off election, the AC is counting on the fact that the weather will make it hard for reform candidates to reach members at the plant gates.
Why Ranked Choice Voting Matters to Our Union Democracy
- Most importantly, RCV is the most fair way to vote. If your vote cannot help your top choice win, your vote counts for your next choice. Like a traditional run-off, it helps prevent the third party spoiler effect—but it’s better than a traditional run-off in a few ways.
- Second, it avoids wasting members’ time & money by avoiding a second run-off election months later. This could save the membership up to $1,000,000 that would otherwise be spent on a run-off. Even though we won’t have a separate run-off election, we still have the benefit of ensuring the winner is preferred to the runner-up by a majority of voters—through the “instant run-off” made possible by ranking our choices.
- Third, it minimizes strategic voting—in other words, there’s no gaming the system. Voters should be able to vote for candidates they support, not just vote for the most likely person to beat the candidate they dislike the most. In elections without RCV, voters may feel that they need to vote for the “lesser of two evils,” because their favorite candidate is less likely to win. With RCV, voters can honestly rank candidates in order of choice, knowing that if their first choice doesn’t win, their vote automatically counts for their next choice instead. This frees us from worrying about how others will vote and which candidates are more or less likely to win.
- Fourth, it increases voter participation. Traditional run-offs have notoriously low turnout.
- For more on the benefits of RCV—if you don’t just want to take our word for it—visit fairvote.org/rcv.
Why Ranked Choice Voting matters to us
- As a reformer, I want a strong field of candidates to run for IEB. RCV ensures that in a field of multiple candidates, our votes are not split among the non-AC candidates.
- As an auto worker, next year should be about bargaining our contracts, not a run-off.
- As a legal aid worker, I fight for my clients’ voting rights, & I know that RCV is fairest.
- As an academic worker, I’ve seen & studied how ranked choice voting works, and I know it’s the best way to vote for real democracy.
2022 Convention
Unite All Workers for Democracy (UAWD) is a grassroots movement of UAW members united in the common goal of creating a more democratic and accountable union.
Follow what we're fighting for at the 2022 UAW Constitutional Convention.
