Ranking for the First Time : Evidence that Voting in a Ranked Choice Vote (RCV) Election Causes People to Increase their Positive Evaluations of RCV

Overview: A field experiment isolates the downstream effects of being mobilized to vote in a ranked choice vote (RCV) election. After people are mobilized to vote in their first RCV election, they report more positive evaluations of RCV across multiple dimensions.Abstract: Ranked choice voting (RCV) is an alternative method of electing single member districts that eliminates the spoiler effect, encourages collaborative campaigns, and guarantees a majority winner. Some worry that voters might find RCV to be confusing and intimidating. Others applaud RCV for producing better campaigns. What do the voters think? And does the experience of voting in a ranked choice vote election change the way people view RCV? This study combines a panel survey conducted before and after an RCV election with an intensive mobilization treatment that encourages voting in the same RCV election. The analysis leverages the mobilization treatment as an instrumental variable, creating an opportunity to isolate and estimate the effects of exogenously-driven increases in voter turnout. The results find that when people are mobilized to vote in their first RCV election, their positive evaluations of RCV increase across multiple dimensions - including reports about how easy RCV is to understand, the quality of campaigns, the quality of candidates and vote choice, and perceptions about RCV’s effect on fairness and corruption. Exploratory analyses find that the effects of voting in an RCV election on positive evaluations of RCV are largely consistent across different demographic groups. As more cities in America transition to ranked choice voting over time, more Americans will continue to be exposed to this alternative to plurality rule. This study suggests that citizens’ evaluations of RCV will grow stronger after they experience voting in RCV elections