(Columbia, SC) – On Monday, January 23, 2023 at 2pm, in recognition of national Ranked Choice Voting Day, The RCV/IRV Coalition will gather on the State House steps to show that RCV is as easy as 1-2-3 and a needed electoral improvement for local and municipal elections in South Carolina.
The multi-partisan RCV/IRV Coalition represents thousands of South Carolina voters through member organizations including Better Ballot SC, FairVote, Rank the Vote, Principles First, Lowcountry Indivisible, SC Forward Party, Veterans for Political Innovation, SC Alliance Party, Country Vote, SC Green Party and SC Libertarian Party.
The event will be emceed by Nicole Sanchez, President of Better Ballot SC. The wide political range and diversity of member organizations supporting RCV/IRV will be apparent by an array of speakers.
Confirmed Speakers (Update)
Dr. Jermaine Johnson, representing State House District 70, is joining Chris Himsl, activist for Principles First and Colonel, US. Army, ret., and Andrew Yang, co-founder of the Forward Party and former U.S. presidential candidate, on the podium. The event will be emceed by Nicole Sanchez, Co-Founder and President of Better Ballot SC.
The RCV/IRV Coalition is advocating for electoral change in South Carolina at the local and municipal levels because RCV/IRV:
- guarantees a majority winner (as opposed to some municipal races where a candidate can win with less than 10% of a turnout that is typically less than 20% of voters in out of cycle years.)
- minimizes political mudslinging and the polarization it causes;
- eliminates needless runoffs that waste tax dollars.
And RCV has been tried recently in more elections across America than ever before. As of December 2022, 62 American jurisdictions have RCV in place, reaching about 13 million voters. This includes 2 states (Maine and Alaska) 2 counties and 58 cities (source: FairVote.org). Even South Carolina military and overseas voters cast RCV ballots. So why not the rest of us?
WHO: RCV/IRV Coalition, Andrew Yang, Chris Himsl and others
WHAT: RCV/IRV Rally Day
WHEN: Monday, January 23, 2023 at 2pm
WHERE: South Carolina State House (Gervais Street Side)
For more information, please contact Clint Eisenhauer at eisenhauerclint@gmail.com or 843.822.1194
