Thirteen states now ban ranked-choice voting as West Virginia, Wyoming join bandwagon

West Virginia and Wyoming are the latest two states to ban ranked-choice voting (RCV), bringing the total number of states prohibiting the election system to 13. The battle over whether to implement or ban RCV has been ongoing for nearly a decade. However, more states have banned RCV or chosen not to use it than have implemented it.

RCV is an election process whereby if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then a runoff system is triggered. When voters cast their ballots, they rank each candidate in order of first-to-last.

If no candidate reaches the 50% plus-one vote threshold, then the candidate with the least amount of first-choice votes is eliminated, then second-choice votes from those who voted for the last-place finisher are reallocated among the remaining candidates and tallied – in a process that continues until a candidate receives the majority of the vote.

The pros and cons

RCV proponents argue that the system results in representative outcomes and majority rule, incentivizes positive campaigning, allows for more voter choice, and saves money when replacing preliminaries or runoffs, according to pro-RCV organization FairVote.

At the same time, election integrity advocates have warned of the increased use of more dark money in RCV elections, and NAACP chapters have raised issues about RCV potentially confusing voters. Alaska and Maine are the only two states that use RCV in elections statewide, and three counties and 46 cities use RCV, according to FairVote. Maine was the first state to implement RCV statewide in 2018.

The movement to ban RCV began in Florida and Tennessee in 2022, followed by Idaho, Montana and South Dakota in 2023, then Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma last year.

Last year ballot measures to implement RCV were largely defeated. Washington, D.C., was the only jurisdiction that passed a ballot measure to implement RCV, after the city’s Democratic Party lost a lawsuit to block the initiative from being placed on the ballot. Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada and Oregon all rejected ballot measures to enact the system in November.

The Cowboy State gets kudos

Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R) on Tuesday signed a bill into law banning RCV.

“Partisan and nonpartisan candidates who receive the largest number of votes for each office to be filled at the general election are elected,” the enacted bill reads. "Nothing in this election code shall be deemed to authorize any election in Wyoming to be conducted through ranked choice voting. 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.”

Jason Snead, co-chairman of Stop RCV and executive director of the Honest Elections Project, praised Wyoming for enacting the ban on RCV. “It should be easy to vote and hard to cheat, but ranked-choice voting makes it harder to vote and harder to trust the results,” Snead said in a statement on Wednesday. “Voters can be thankful that state officials like Secretary of State Chuck Gray in Wyoming are leading the charge to stop RCV and protect ordinary, common-sense election processes.”

"Wyoming is a state known for taking election integrity seriously,” he added. "Banning ranked-choice voting and the private election funding scheme known as ‘Zuck Bucks’ goes a long way in ensuring that Wyoming maintains its position as one of the best states in the country for honest elections.

"The Wyoming state legislature and Secretary Chuck Gray have been instrumental in critical protections signed into law. Wyoming has already earned the distinction of being the first state in 2025 to stop foreign influence in state ballot measures. Banning ranked-choice voting and ‘Zuck Bucks’ will further secure election integrity and increase voter confidence in the electoral process in the state of Wyoming."

RCV banned in West Virginia

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey (R) also signed a bill into law banning RCV on Tuesday. “No state, county, or local elections office may use ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting to conduct an election or nomination of any candidate in this state for any local government, statewide, or federal elective office,” according to the enacted bill. “Any existing or future ordinance enacted or adopted by a county, a municipality, or any other local government entity which is in conflict with this section is void.”

West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner (R) on Thursday commended the state legislature for passing the bill. "Ranked choice voting is a complicated process that reduces confidence in election outcomes," Warner said in a statement. “It can theoretically result in an initially third-or-fourth favorite candidate being elected.”

“Fair, accurate, and secure elections are the foundation of our government. In West Virginia, the highest vote-getter is the winner. That method is tried and true, easy to understand, uniform, and transparent to the electorate,” he added.

“I am grateful to the Legislature for taking this simple but important legislation seriously and getting it across the finish line early in the session,” Warner said.

Snead also noted West Virginia’s track record of election integrity. “West Virginians have grown accustomed to secure elections with timely results,” Snead said Wednesday. “By outlawing ranked-choice voting statewide, the legislature and governor have ensured that voters will continue to get just that."

Trent England, co-chairman of Stop RCV and executive director of Save Our States, elaborated on the drawbacks to RCV. “RCV is a failed election reform,” England said in a statement on Wednesday. 

“It hasn’t lived up to any of the claims made by FairVote and other far-left groups that push it. Instead, it’s disenfranchised elderly and minority voters, delayed results, and elected fringe candidates. Thankfully, states are rushing to ban RCV.”