Fortune: What Is Ranked-Choice Voting? An Exercise in Representative Democracy, Reformists Say

People around the country are imagining new ways to decide their elected officials, especially in recent years. Some voting rights advocates have been working to overhaul the Electoral College, while others also have their sights set on a new method of voting.

Voting reformists are organizing to set up a system of ranked-choice voting that would guarantee every vote counts and that advocates argue will transform U.S. politics. …

According to advocates, not only does this system ensure that every vote counts, it also keeps candidates and voters engaged with one another and opens up the political race.

“Ranked-choice voting helps people who want to run but are discouraged from running maybe because they will split the race,” Maria Perez, a campaign manager with Common Cause New Mexico, told Fortune. “That’s not democratic. People who want to run should run and have a voice at the table.”

The city of Santa Fe used ranked-choice voting for the first time last year in its mayoral and city council elections, where it was largely successful.

“Voters were super engaged, there was a good turnout, and a good shift in how candidates were campaigning,” said Perez. …

Proponents say it’s not partisan, but about representative democracy.

“Over decades and decades the political system has been deteriorating,” said Perez, who argued that politicians have become more sympathetic to lobbies than voters. “People are waking up to this and seeing that it’s really bad, and it’s going to kill us and our communities.”