Sponsors (4)
The bill creates a single, uniform Federal-ballot method that reduces voter confusion and eases administration nationwide, at the cost of removing states' ability to use ranked-choice voting for Federal contests—potentially wasting local investments and constraining electoral innovation.
Voters nationwide will use a uniform, single-ballot method for Federal elections, reducing confusion and ensuring a consistent voting experience across states.
State and local election administrators will have simpler administration and avoid implementing new ranked-choice ballot-counting systems for Federal contests, lowering administrative complexity and potential costs.
Voters in states or localities that prefer ranked-choice voting will lose the option to rank candidates in Federal contests, limiting their ability to express nuanced preferences and reduce vote-splitting.
State and local governments that invested in ranked-choice voting infrastructure for Federal contests will face wasted implementation costs or need to revert/replace systems, imposing financial losses on taxpayers.
Electoral reform advocates and jurisdictions seeking to experiment with alternative voting methods will have fewer policy options for Federal races, slowing innovation in how votes are translated into winners.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced April 28, 2025 by Abraham J. Hamadeh · Last progress April 28, 2025
Bans the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) for any election for Federal office by adding a new prohibition to the Help America Vote Act. It updates enforcement cross‑references and takes effect for elections held in 2026 and thereafter. The bill also provides a short title and renumbers existing HAVA provisions to insert the new prohibition, but it does not appropriate funds or create new federal spending.