Exploring Flexible Voting: A Key to Empowering Democracy
Voting is pretty simple. Or, at least, it should be. Whether you’re casting a vote for the next band to be enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame or picking the caterer for the office Christmas party, it boils down to one thing: whoever gets the most votes wins. In politics, however, the process is far more convoluted. Why aren’t presidents elected by the largest share of the popular vote? Isn’t that a clear indicator of the will of the people? What is the Electoral College, and how does it work? Why do some states receive more electoral votes than others? It’s easy to see why the average voter is left wondering whether their vote means anything.
This frustration has drawn attention to the concept of flexible voting; innovations in election reform that change how we choose our representatives that are less polarizing and in tune with voter sentiment. A form of flexible voting known as Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference (we’ll get into the details later), has gained interest as one of several approaches (Approval Voting and STAR Voting) that we’ll explore.
When citizens feel disengaged or indifferent about voting, it means serious consequences for democracy, policy-making, and representation. When citizens feel that their vote doesn’t move the needle, it empowers the influence of special interests, neglects underrepresented groups, and makes it easier for politicians to be less accountable. Flexible voting aligns perfectly with FiNC’s vision of Digital Politics because it addresses the need to make voting more accessible and expand voter education while erasing partisan divides.
What is Flexible Voting?
Simply put, flexible voting is a more robust way for voters to choose the candidates that resonate with their own values and policy beliefs. It is based on a series of factors that expand the power of their vote by allowing more options and more choices so they can choose a candidate they can feel good about. Let’s get into the different types of flexible voting systems.
Types of Flexible Voting Systems
Approval Voting, formally introduced by Robert J. Weber in 1971 and later popularized by Steven Brams and Peter Fishburn in 1977, is a method that allows voters to choose any number of candidates they like. The candidate with the most votes wins. The vote-casting doesn’t involve ranking in any way. In this manner, the electorate can express itself in a less hyper-partisan way while allowing them to pick and choose based on the attributes of the candidates they look for. The Center for Election Science is a big supporter of Approval Voting for these reasons, and because it gives voters more power and presence that aspiring candidates cannot ignore.
STAR Voting (Score Then Automatic Run-off Voting) was created by Mark Frohnmayer and developed by the Equal Vote Coalition in 2014. Like Approval Voting, voters can show support to as many candidates as they wish, but support using this method is determined by a numerical scale that reflects the intensity of the voter’s appeal. Each candidate gets a rating from 0-5 (Zero reflects no support and 5 indicates overwhelming support.) After tallying the numbers, the two most favored candidates go to a run-off. At this stage, each voter casts a single vote to determine the winner. This method means a vote of conscience doesn’t have to be wasted, effectively ending the “lesser of two evils” mindset that plagues modern elections.
Another idea that’s been gaining significant traction in the electoral reform movement is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). This method was the creation of Thomas Hare, a British lawyer, in the 1850s and has since been widely used in Australia, Ireland, and parts of the U.S. dating back to the early 20th century. Here, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on voters’ next choices. This process repeats until a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. As the template for Flexible Voting, this method has drawn criticism for its complexity, however, 45 U.S. cities, Maine, Alaska, and, starting in 2026, the District of Columbia, will all utilize RCV in one form or another.
Why Flexible Voting Matters
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- Better Representation: Because flexible voting enables voters to whittle down their choices based on a host of factors. The candidates that emerge will be the best fit through this built-in vetting process.
- Minimizing “Spoiler Effect”: Vote-splitting occurs when like-minded candidates receive votes (that would’ve gone to one person) that set the stage for a less-popular candidate to emerge victorious. Flexible voting eliminates the least popular candidates and redistributes their votes to the next preference, thus greatly reducing the winner-takes-all outcome.
- Empowering Voters: When voters feel their vote makes a real difference, the engine of democracy runs strong. It encourages increased turnout and a renewed faith in participating in their democracy. This is part of what FiNC’s Digital Politics hopes to achieve. Here are some other ways flexible voting and Digital Politics are aligned.
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- Reframing Politics: Flexible voting empowers voters with real choices and amplifies the impact of every vote while disrupting the cycle of left-vs-right politics. By challenging the limits of two-party dominance, it opens the door to a more inclusive, citizen-powered democracy where leadership truly reflects the will of the people.
- Bypassing the Establishment: By bypassing traditional party structures that often block third-party and independent voices, flexible voting levels the playing field. When these barriers are removed, we can advance Digital Politics’ (DP) mission to empower citizens, promote fair competition, and return real choice to the people.
- Civic Infrastructure: Flexible voting systems, like RCV and STAR Voting, are helping to reshape democracy by rejecting political gatekeepers and giving everyday citizens more direct influence. These systems provide a cornerstone from which the political process can reflect the preferences of a more diverse cross-section of voters.
- Collective Alignment: Flexible voting promotes inclusivity by embracing the wide range of political beliefs, lived experiences, and ways of thinking among voters, fully aligning with DP’s commitment to ensure democracy works for everyone.
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Moving Toward a More Inclusive Democracy
People can be resistant to change, but political systems are even more so. Over many years, it seems that the will of the people has become replaced by the will of the powerful, so it’s no shocker that flexible voting has been attacked by those in power. While the system has made some strides, national referendums that advocate adapting to this voting model have been struck down. Limited data on the long-term effects of flexible voting has also contributed to the speculation of its effectiveness, but the naysayers are mostly part of the establishment that fear upsetting the power dynamic that gives them a political advantage. If you feel disenfranchised as a voter, check out how flexible voting can make your vote really count.
Conclusion
When we take the cynicism out of politics, we can reclaim democracy by investing our energy to champion systemic change, and changing the way we vote is a great place to start! Putting citizens back in the driver’s seat by giving them agency over their choices is what flexible voting is all about and what FiNC’s Digital Politics aims to accomplish. To make flexible voting a reality, FiNC is developing the right tools to expand voter education and inspire advocacy, but we need a big push from you to win the fight for more sensible and representative forms of voting.
For more information on FiNC’s blueprint to upgrade democracy and how you can help make that vision a reality, visit our website. To follow us on social media or to donate, please click here. Let’s go!
Sources
https://electionscience.org/education/approval-voting
https://ballotpedia.org/Approval_voting
https://www.starvoting.org/
https://ballotpedia.org/STAR_voting
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ranked-choice_voting_in_the_United_States
https://apnews.com/article/ranked-choice-voting-open-primaries-election-reform-bc797f209e5f98a18afb2e5f784e63b6
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ranked-choice-voting-loses-everywhere-except-alaska.html?utm_campaign=feed-part&utm_medium=social_acct
https://www.electoral-reform.org.uk/voting-systems/types-of-voting-system/alternative-vote/
https://www.equal.vote/