Ranked Choice Voting: A Better Way for Waltham Residents to Make Their Voices Heard

“Our elections should encourage candidates to bring people together.” — John McCain

Imagine this.

Five candidates are running for mayor in Waltham. You really like one candidate, but you're worried they can't win. So instead of voting for your favorite, you vote for someone else who seems more likely to succeed.

Sound familiar?

Many voters have faced this dilemma. It's one of the reasons communities across the United States are exploring Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), a voting system designed to give voters more choice and more voice.

If you've heard the term but aren't exactly sure how it works, you're not alone. Let's break it down.

What Is Ranked Choice Voting?

Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference instead of choosing just one.

On the ballot, you might see columns like this :

1st Choice 2nd Choice 3rd Choice 4th Choice

You can rank as many or as few candidates as you want.

Your first-choice vote is always counted first. If your favorite candidate wins, great—your vote helped elect them.

But if your first-choice candidate is eliminated, your vote isn't wasted. Instead, your vote is counted for your next preferred candidate who is still in the race.

The process continues until one candidate earns majority support among the active votes.

A Simple Example

Let's say Waltham voters are choosing their favorite local destination.

The choices are:

• Prospect Hill Park

• Beaver Brook Reservation

• Pizzi Farm

• Charles River Riverwalk

After the first round of counting, no option receives more than 50% of the vote.

The option with the fewest votes is eliminated.

Voters who selected that option as their first choice now have their votes counted for their next choice.

The process continues until one option receives majority support.

Instead of simply picking the choice with the largest minority of support, Ranked Choice Voting identifies the option that is preferred by the broadest group of people.

Why Does This Matter?

Traditional elections can sometimes produce winners who are supported by less than half of voters.

For example, a candidate could win with just 35% of the vote if the remaining votes are divided among several other candidates.

Ranked Choice Voting was designed to address this challenge while giving voters more freedom to support the candidates they truly prefer.

Here are four key benefits.

Majority-Supported Winners

Most people believe elected officials should have broad support from the community they represent.

Ranked Choice Voting helps ensure that winning candidates have support from a majority of participating voters rather than just a large plurality.

Candidates must appeal not only to their core supporters but also to voters who may rank them as a second or third choice.

The result is often a winner who reflects the preferences of a larger portion of the community.

For Waltham residents, that means elected leaders who can claim stronger community backing and greater legitimacy.

Eliminates Vote-Splitting

One of the most frustrating aspects of traditional elections is vote-splitting.

This happens when two or more similar candidates divide support among voters, allowing another candidate to win despite being opposed by most voters.

As a result, voters sometimes feel pressure to abandon their favorite candidate and vote strategically.

Ranked Choice Voting changes that.

You can rank your favorite candidate first and still indicate your backup choices. If your top choice is eliminated, your vote transfers to your next preferred candidate.

This allows voters to vote honestly instead of trying to guess which candidate has the best chance of winning.

More Positive Campaigns

In traditional elections, candidates sometimes focus heavily on attacking opponents.

Under Ranked Choice Voting, candidates have an incentive to seek not only first-choice votes but also second- and third-choice support from voters backing other candidates.

That creates a reason to build bridges rather than burn them.

Candidates who treat their opponents' supporters respectfully may be rewarded with additional rankings from those voters.

While no voting system can eliminate negativity entirely, Ranked Choice Voting encourages campaigns that focus more on issues, ideas, and coalition-building.

Saves Time and Money

Many communities use preliminary elections or runoff elections to ensure winners have broad support.

Those extra elections can be expensive.

They require additional staffing, polling locations, ballot printing, equipment, and administration.

They also require voters to return to the polls multiple times.

Ranked Choice Voting delivers the benefits of a runoff election in a single election.

Voters cast one ballot, election officials conduct one election, and taxpayers avoid the costs associated with running multiple contests.

For a city like Waltham, that can mean a more efficient election process that respects both voters' time and public resources.

What Could This Mean for Waltham?

Waltham has a long tradition of civic engagement and community involvement.

Ranked Choice Voting offers an opportunity to strengthen that tradition by giving voters more meaningful choices and ensuring election outcomes better reflect community preferences.

Whether you're a longtime resident, a young voter participating in your first local election, or someone who simply wants local government to be more representative, Ranked Choice Voting provides a practical way to improve how elections work.

The Bottom Line

Democracy works best when voters can express their preferences fully and confidently.

Ranked Choice Voting allows residents to rank candidates in order of preference, helps elect majority-supported winners, eliminates vote-splitting, encourages more positive campaigns, and can save taxpayers money by avoiding separate runoff elections.

It's a simple idea with powerful potential.

And as communities across the country continue to adopt Ranked Choice Voting, Waltham residents have an opportunity to learn more about a voting system designed to give every voter a stronger voice in shaping the future of our city.

Give ranked choice voting a try for yourself: What Improvement Should Waltham Prioritize?