Sponsors (4)
The bill preserves simpler, lower-cost traditional federal election administration for many states but removes the ability for others to use ranked-choice voting, trading administrative simplicity and cost savings against reduced voting-method choice and possible changes to electoral outcomes.
Voters in states that use single-choice systems keep familiar, simpler ballot counting procedures for federal contests (no change to how they vote or how ballots are tabulated).
State election administrators avoid the additional costs and complexity of implementing and maintaining ranked-choice voting ballot design and tabulation for federal contests.
Voters in states that prefer ranked-choice voting lose the option to use RCV in federal contests beginning in 2026, reducing their ability to choose that voting method.
Prohibiting RCV could remove a voting option that some advocates say reduces spoiler effects and produces broader support winners, potentially changing election outcomes.
States and localities that already invested in RCV systems may face wasted sunk costs or need to reconfigure systems for federal contests, imposing financial and administrative burdens on governments and taxpayers.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bans States from using ranked choice voting in Federal elections, effective for elections held in 2026 and later.
Introduced April 28, 2025 by Abraham J. Hamadeh · Last progress April 28, 2025
Prohibits any State from using ranked choice voting systems for Federal elections and makes that prohibition enforceable under existing federal election law. The ban applies to Federal elections held in 2026 and any succeeding year and does not provide new funding or create new federal programs.