Sponsors (3)
The bill standardizes federal ballots to single-choice voting—which can simplify counting and reduce variability—while restricting states' ability to use ranked-choice voting in federal races and imposing transition costs and potential loss of voter preference expression.
All voters and state election officials: Federal elections will use a uniform single-choice ballot method nationwide, reducing variability in vote counting and certification procedures.
Voters unfamiliar with ranked-choice systems: Federal contests will be simpler to understand because they will use single-choice ballots, which can reduce voter confusion in those contests.
State governments (and their voters): The bill prevents states from using ranked-choice voting for Federal races, limiting state flexibility to choose how federal votes are tallied.
Voters in states that adopted ranked-choice voting: Those voters lose the potential benefits of ranking (e.g., reduced spoiler effects and more expressive preferences) in Federal contests.
State election administrations: States that implemented or planned RCV may incur added administrative costs and complexity to revert or redesign ballots, voting systems, and training for non-RCV Federal contests.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits any State from conducting elections for Federal office using ranked choice voting (RCV), defined as a system where voters rank candidates by preference. The amendment changes the Help America Vote Act to add a new prohibition, updates enforcement references, adjusts the statute layout, and makes the ban effective for elections held on or after enactment. No new funding or programs are created.
Introduced April 1, 2025 by Michael Lawler · Last progress April 1, 2025