Michigan GOP moves against ranked choice voting as petition drive gears up

• State House Republicans push to ban ranked choice voting in Michigan
• The legislation comes as advocates are seeking to implement ranked choice voting statewide via ballot proposal
• Ranked choice voting critics in the Legislature argue the practice is confusing and would decrease turnout

Republicans in the Michigan House are pushing to formally ban ranked choice voting ahead of a potential 2026 ballot proposal that would ask voters if they want to adopt the new way of choosing elected officials. 

Ranked choice voting would “disenfranchise people” because it’s “confusing,” argued state Rep. Donni Steele, a Bloomfield Hills Republican who is co-sponsoring the new legislation to bar the voting method. 

“The election laws and just getting to know the candidates seems like enough of a challenge to make sure everybody participates at a high level,” she told Bridge Michigan in an interview. 

Rank MI Vote, a group that plans to launch its petition drive later this month, decried the legislation, arguing Michiganders are “looking for a politics that works for them … not political insiders."

“Some Lansing politicians continue to run the same tired playbook of trying to stop voters who want their voice to be heard,”  Executive Director Pat Zabawa said in a statement to Bridge.

Ranked choice voting allows voters to select candidates in order of preference. Initially only voters’ first choice is counted, but if no candidate has an immediate majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. 

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All the voters who chose the eliminated candidate then have their next-place votes distributed to the remaining contestants. The process repeats until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote.

Proponents assert the method would eliminate the possibility of “spoiler” candidates and help elect lawmakers that better represent the views of voters in competitive districts. 

While organizers contend ranked choice voting is a nonpartisan and good-government reform, conservative backlash has helped thwart ballot proposals in other parts of the country. 

Voters rejected ranked choice voting initiatives in five states last year, and five others have proactively banned it. 

National GOP opposition

Under the potential Michigan ballot proposal, ranked choice voting would be used in congressional and presidential primary and general elections, the primary for governor and the general elections for governor, secretary of state and attorney general. 

The Michigan Legislature would be excluded while local offices could opt in.

Organizers will need to collect 446,198 signatures in a 180-day window to make the 2026 general election ballot.

Several Michigan cities — including Ferndale, Royal Oak, East Lansing and Kalamazoo — have adopted ranked choice voting ordinances, but current state law has prohibited implementation. Ferndale has been waiting more than 20 years to give it a try.

The GOP legislation, introduced in the state House on July 1, would more expressly prohibit the state or local governments from using ranked choice voting in future Michigan elections. 

The criticisms from bill sponsors presage what the public is likely to hear in a  “no” campaign, should Rank MI Vote’s proposal make it on the 2026 ballot.

Stop RCV, a national coalition of right-wing groups, contends ranked choice voting is “more complicated, more partisan, and less transparent.”

Rep. Rachelle Smit, a Shelby Township Republican and the bill’s primary sponsor, has called ranked choice voting “a solution in search of a problem.”

At least one survey has shown Americans are less comfortable with ranked choice voting when the leading plurality vote-getter is not elected — something Steele has also mentioned in her criticism of the approach.

“Why fix something that I don't believe is broken?” Rep. Alicia St. Germaine, a Harrison Township Republican and another co-sponsor, told Bridge. 

‘Preemptive strike’

Ranked MI Vote, meanwhile, has used the threat of the GOP legislation to try and raise funds for its petition drive, which is expected to launch later this month. 

The "preemptive strike" is a "miscalculation" that will energize younger voters, campaign director Joe Spaulding wrote in a fundraising email. It "proves one thing: They know we're a threat and a serious player in Michigan politics."

The effort has some notable champions, including Katie Fahey, the election reform activist who spearheaded the 2018 Voters Not Politicians petition drive to create Michigan's independent redistricting commission. Rank MI Vote announced in August that it was working with Fahey.   

The GOP legislation faces an uncertain future in the Michigan Legislature, where Democrats control the state Senate. And the ballot proposal – if successful – could override it by amending the Michigan Constitution. 

Two states currently use ranked choice voting: Maine and Alaska, but their election laws differ significantly.

In Maine, there are still partisan primaries, conducted through ranked choice voting, and nominees are sent on to a ranked-choice general election in the fall. With this approach, Michigan’s election process would largely stay intact — including straight-ticket voting — though ballots would look different.

Alaskan voters, on the other hand, have opted to conduct open primaries, also known as nonpartisan primaries. There candidates from every party appear on a single primary ballot and voters make only one pick per office. The top four vote-getters then move on to a ranked-choice ballot for the general election. Alaska also rejected a ranked choice repeal effort in 2024.