There was an interesting piece of information in the results from the ranked-choice voting of the 2nd Congressional District Republican primary. After the first round, Dale Crafts was in first place with just below 50%, Adrienne Bennett was second, and Eric Brakey third. Based on the ranked-choice voting statute, votes for Brakey (in last place) were distributed between Crafts and Bennett where a second choice was indicated.
Well, it appears 34% of Brakey’s voters didn’t list a second choice. But surprise, 66% of Brakey’s hard-core libertarian-leaning conservative Republican voters availed themselves of the opportunity to list a second choice. And, you know, I’ll bet a bunch of those voters had even signed the petition to abolish ranked-choice voting by referendum.
Actually, it’s not surprising at all that even hard-core Republican voters would avail themselves of ranked-choice voting — it is just such a great idea, as they will conclude some day.
Ernie Hilton
Starks
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