ELECTIONS

Although the United States boasts that it is the most developed country in the world, when it comes to voting we are quite behind the curve. US voter turnout is lower than most developed countries in the world, meaning that people are just less interested or less able to participate in our democracy than they should be. Part of this is because it is so hard for many people, particularly low-income and Black and brown people, to vote in this country. And in Rhode Island, many state legislators have a vested interest in continuing to make it hard to vote. They were elected by small groups of the population( in the District 6 race in 2018, only 3,000 out of over 20,000 eligible voters voted). One of the most sacrosanct rights of the United States is the right to vote. In Rhode Island, Tiara will fight to make it easy, free, and fair to vote in our elections.

Currently in the United States, our electoral system is inefficient and punishes non-establishment candidates. Our “first past the post” system forces a voter to choose a single candidate. This means that many people engage in tactical voting, choosing to cast their ballot for someone other than their first choice because they don’t think their first choice will win. In the 2020 presidential primary, early voting gave people the opportunity to avoid crowded lines on election day. However, in California, it also meant that almost 10% of ballots cast were for candidates who had dropped out in the days prior. But there is another way. Tiara supports ranked choice voting, which would allow voters to rank multiple candidates on their ballots rather than marking just one. If no candidate reaches a majority of the vote (50%), then the last place candidate is removed, and the votes of the people who ranked them first are reapportioned to these voters’ second-place choice. This process continues until someone eventually wins a majority of the vote. Ranked choice voting recently passed in New York City, and was first implemented in Minneapolis in 2009. In addition, ranked choice voting has been effective in guaranteeing more representative electoral bodies. Research has shown that election rates of Black and brown people increase when ranked choice voting is implemented.

“First past the post” is an outdated system that forces people to choose only one of multiple potentially good candidates. In this system, it doesn’t matter whether a candidate is your second choice or your least favorite choice. All that matters is that you didn’t vote for them. Tiara supports legislation to submit a ranked choice voting ballot initiative to the people of Rhode Island, which would allow them to vote for a more democratic and representative electoral system."

Although candidates are meant to represent the people, many of them feel no need, as they have unlimited warchests to spend on advertising and organizing. Our current system gives rich people a leg-up in running for office, and means that we are represented by people who do not understand what it means to be low-income or live paycheck to paycheck. In fourteen states in the U.S., there is at least partial funding of elections for some offices. In Rhode Island, the gubernatorial race is partially funded.

Rhode Island is one of only a few Democrat-controlled states that have not passed same-day voter registration. Many of its New England counterparts, like Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, have all passed this legislation, some with Republican Governors. The Rhode Island registration deadline is almost a month before the election. However, most interest and coverage of an election occurs within a month of that date. Therefore, people who become interested in voting closer to election day are prevented from doing so. Same day voter registration boosts turnout by up to ten percent, and is particularly effective among Black and brown voters. Currently, many voters have incorrect information, perhaps because they have moved, and are prevented from voting because of this. By allowing Same-Day voter registration, states can update voter rolls and people will not be turned away because of an old address. Tiara believes that a person should be able to show up to the polls on election day, provide a non-photo ID and be able to vote.