Abstract
Third-party candidates have at times altered the outcomes of presidential elections by drawing votes away from major-party candidates. This “disruptor” effect is largely a product of states’ winner-take-all allocation of electoral votes, which awards all of a state’s electors to the plurality winner. The system discourages support for third-party candidates and can produce results that fail to reflect majority preferences. This report by the Fordham Law School Rule of Law Clinic recommends that states adopt ranked-choice voting for presidential elections to ensure that winners command majority support. It also outlines complementary reforms, including best practices for implementing ranked-choice voting and federal grants to assist states in the transition.
Recommended Citation
Hillary Bendert, Jacqueline Hayes & Kevin Ruane,
Third Parties and the Electoral College: How Ranked Choice Voting Can Stop the Third-Party Disruptor Effect,
1
Fordham L. Voting Rts. & Democracy F.
332
(2023).
Available at:
https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vrdf/vol1/iss3/6
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