Democrats and activists are pushing to overhaul the party's presidential nominating process by adopting ranked-choice voting, Axios reported Sunday.
This method drew national attention when it was used in the New York City Democrat primary that propelled Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani to victory.
Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin and other top party officials have met with advocates who are urging the voting method to be expanded for the 2028 presidential primaries, three sources told Axios.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Joe Biden pollster Celinda Lake, the nonprofit FairVote Action and other Democrats suggested the idea at an October meeting, the sources said.
Backers of the change — which would permit voters to rank candidates in order of preference — told a DNC breakfast gathering in Washington, D.C., that it would bolster and unite the party.
They said such a method would prevent people's votes from being "wasted" after presidential candidates drop out, and encourage coalition-building among contenders, which they said was an important factor due to the party's divisive primaries in 2016 and 2020.
There has been a mixed response to the proposal within the DNC.
"I'm totally open to ranked-choice voting," One committee member said.
Another said, "we should follow the lead of the states. They know better."
Critics have argued the method would increase waiting times at the polls and be a logistical quagmire.
For the DNC to approve the use of ranked-choice voting in primaries, it would need the backing of the powerful rules and bylaws committee and a majority of the 450-member body. State parties also would need to approve it, and many states would have to amend their election laws.
Raskin told Axios that the method "favors positive politics rather than negative politics, and that's a great thing for the Democratic Party primaries."
"Oftentimes there's a sense of acrimony and bitterness that can last decades," Raskin added. "Think about the race between Hillary and Bernie Sanders."
In addition to New York City, other states and localities that have adopted ranked-choice voting include Alaska, Maine, San Francisco, and Minneapolis.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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