This Giving Tuesday, help ensure voters have the information they need to make confident, informed decisions. Donate now!

On the Ballot Episode 135 RCV’s-big-year-at-the-ballot-box

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
OTB Main Logo 2.png

On The Ballot is a podcast presented by Ballotpedia that connects people to politics.

Each week, Ballotpedia's election experts will unpack the week's top political stories. Ballotpedia's here to give you the facts, so you can form your own opinion. Stream On the Ballot on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Stream On The Ballot: SpotifyButton.png AppleMusicButton.png YouTubeButton.png MoreButton.png

Previous episodeNext episode


Episode #135

RCV’s big year at the ballot box

On this episode: Few voting methods have gained as much traction and been in the spotlight these last few years as Ranked Choice Voting, commonly known as RCV. How it works is right in its name; voters rank candidates according to their preference and ballots are processed in rounds. The candidate in the last place is eliminated during each round and the voters’ second choices get their votes. The process is continued until a candidate wins a simple majority (50 percent plus one) of the vote.

In just a few weeks, RCV will be one of the hottest ballot measure questions to watch, with six states deciding on initiatives to adopt, repeal, or pre-empt ranked-choice voting. We cover RCV very closely here at Ballotpedia – we’ve got a great in-depth guide in the show notes for you, filled with everything you need to know about how it works, its history, arguments for and against, and more.

Guest(s): Ballot measures staff writer Victoria Rose

Key Highlights

  • Get up to date on the measures in front of voters on November 5th and learn more about how RCV works.
  • We ran a four-part series near the end of last year that broke down everything you need to know about RCV – follow the links below to listen:




RECENT EPISODES

Otb200tile.png
Episode #200Introducing: Office Hours, a new monthly series from OTB

To mark our 200th episode, Ballotpedia Founder and CEO Leslie Graves joins Host Norm Leahy for the debut of our new monthly series Office Hours. Leslie outlines her ambitious vision to cover all 520,000 elected offices in the U.S. by 2034, explains the mission behind Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection survey, and makes the case for why voters deserve “robust information” at every level of the ballot.

OTB_HomePage_Thumbnails_%288_most_recent_episodes%29_%28400_x_400_px%29_%283%29.png
Episode #2302025 Election Results

Political analyst Miles Coleman from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics and Sabato’s Crystal Ball breaks down the results of this November’s elections, from Virginia and New Jersey to major ballot measures across the country. He explains why polling missed the mark in some races, what surprised him most about the results, and how redistricting in California and Virginia could reshape congressional control heading into 2026.

OTB_HomePage_Thumbnails_%288_most_recent_episodes%29_%28400_x_400_px%29_%284%29.png
Episode #222How Many House Seats Could Flip as a Result of Redistricting Efforts Around the Country?

Erin Covey — Editor of U.S. House coverage at the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter — explains the political strategies at play and the legal uncertainties that surround them, as states move to redraw their congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.

OTB_HomePage_Thumbnails_%288_most_recent_episodes%29_%28400_x_400_px%29_%282%29.png
Episode #216Prop 50, Explained (Recorded pre-election)

California voters decided on November 5th to approve a ballot measure that would amend the state’s constitution to temporarily suspend the state’s independent redistricting commission and replace its maps with new, partisan-drawn districts. Maya C. Miller of CalMatters joins the show to explain everything you need to know.

OTB_HomePage_Thumbnails_%288_most_recent_episodes%29_%28400_x_400_px%29_%281%29.png
Episode #213A Brief History of the Federal Reserve

The Fed has been at the center of America’s biggest economic turning points for more than a century as one of the country’s most powerful institutions. Former Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker joins host Norm Leahy to trace that story—from the banking panics that led to its creation in 1913 to JP Morgan’s role in corralling Wall Street leaders.

OTB_HomePage_Thumbnails_%288_most_recent_episodes%29_%28400_x_400_px%29.png
Episode #210Texas Redistricting Battle Spreads Nationwide

Texas Tribune reporter Eleanor Klibanoff and independent election analyst Nathaniel Rakich break down how Texas began their redistricting journey that ultimately led to six states and counting drawing new congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms.

OTB194.png
Episode #195How Presidential power has evolved since America’s founding

Constitutional scholar Sai Prakash explores the origins, evolution, and modern realities of presidential power. Drawing on historical debates from the Constitutional Convention, Prakash outlines how early framers envisioned a limited executive—primarily tasked with enforcing laws—and how that vision has shifted over time.

TileCrypto.png
Episode #187An Introduction to Crypto Policy

Cryptocurrency has evolved from a niche experiment into a disruptive force with global implications—and U.S. financial institutions, lawmakers, and regulators are working to establish clear crypto-related policy. In this interview with ⁠former CFTC Chairman Chris Giancarlo, we unpack the state of crypto policy in 2025: The political realignment around digital assets, the rapid growth of stablecoins, the future of tokenized securities, and the debate over whether the U.S. should adopt a central bank digital currency or establish a ⁠strategic Bitcoin reserve.⁠

FIND OUR EPISODE ARCHIVE HERE


Retrieved from "https://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php?title=On_the_Ballot_Episode_135_RCV’s-big-year-at-the-ballot-box&oldid=10107208"