Your candidate was "non-viable"? Your vote was wasted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/video/biden-warren-will-not-win-delegates-in-new-hampshire/vp-BBZU0Cg

In the shock and awe surrounding the upset of the 2020 primary kickoff -in which two of the highest polling candidates are currently tanking- the point that nobody is making is how these large field primaries disenfranchise huge swaths of voters.

If your candidate didn't get 15% that is a wasted vote.

Yes, the delegates themselves will get redistributed between the remaining candidates, but the votes themselves… literally disappear. That’s how the system works.

In most elections people know if they are casting a protest vote, but this year it's anybody's guess who is electable.

This is a teachable moment for why we need STAR Voting. If your favorite isn't able to win your vote should go to the finalist you prefer.

What is STAR Voting?

STAR Voting is a nationally viable voting method for elections that matter. A modern upgrade to the Ranked Choice Voting concept, STAR takes it a step further, fully eliminating problems which are mitigated by RCV: Lesser evil voting, vote splitting, and the spoiler effect. And STAR is more secure and logistically viable. STAR stands for Score Then Automatic Runoff, and that’s exactly how it works.

But aren’t primaries better than caucuses?

The talking point about Caucuses disenfranchising voters is 100% true. After all, working people, people with disabilities, and people who live farther from their caucus locations and don’t have access to convenient travel options are all less likely to be able to participate. Still, the assumption that a “Choose One” only primary is better deserves a closer look. It really depends.

A huge field of candidates is the worst case scenario for wasted votes and implicit bias in the voting system.

Traditional “Choose One” elections are fair and accurate when there are two candidates in the race. When there are larger fields of candidates, a primary like we just witnessed in New Hampshire disenfranchises even more voters. When large swaths of votes are wasted that skews the results in major ways. Especially when candidates who everyone expected to be viable, like Warren and Biden, turn out not to be.

There is no reason to settle for either low turnout caucuses or vote splitting primaries. Voter disenfranchisement is a choice, and we can and should say no to elections that can’t handle the diversity of voters that make up our country.

The 2020 primary season is shaping up to be a textbook example for why we need STAR Voting​ for presidential primary elections in which voters are able to show their preference order with out wasting their vote.

Vote in the presidential primary poll and try STAR Voting for yourself!

https://star.vote/2020primary/

Read the MSM article “Biden, Warren will not win any delegates”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/video/biden-warren-will-not-win-delegates-in-new-hampshire/vp-BBZU0Cg

 

Written by Sara Wolk

Executive Director at the Equal Vote Coalition