2020 Massachusetts Question 2

2020 Massachusetts Ranked Choice Voting Initiative
Initiative Petition for a Law to Implement Ranked-Choice Voting in Elections
Outcome	Rejected
Results

Massachusetts Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, also known as Question 2, was an initiative at the 2020 Massachusetts general election that would have changed primaries and elections in Massachusetts from plurality voting to ranked-choice voting (RCV) for all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices beginning in 2022. RCV would not be extended to elections for president, county commissioner, or regional district school committee member. The initiative failed, with 54.8% of voters voting 'No' and 45.2% 'Yes'.^[1]

If passed, Massachusetts would have become the second state to adopt ranked-choice voting for state and federal offices, following Maine's passage of Question 5 in 2016 and subsequent passage of Question 1 in June 2018. Other initiatives to enact ranked choice voting in 2020 include the Alaska Ballot Measure 2.^[2]

Summary

Ranked choice voting is a voting system where voters can rank multiple candidates in order of their preference and is used to ensure election of a candidate with majority support. People supporting lower performing candidates as their first preference can redistribute their vote to more viable candidates, avoiding the problems of vote splitting and spoiler candidates. Ranked choice voting is used in elections in Maine (since 2018; adopted 2016),^[3] the Australian House of Representatives (since 1918),^[4] for the Irish President (since 1938),^[5] and in numerous cities across the United States.^[6]

Voting Process

In ranked choice voting, ballots are completed by giving candidates a number ranking in order of voter preference, starting with a voter's first choice. Voters are able to rank as many candidates as they desire and to include write-in candidates on their ballots. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, then the ballot works as an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and that candidate's votes are redistributed to their supporters’ second choices. If no candidate has a majority after that round, then the process continues until a candidate with majority support is found.^[7]

Endorsements

Voter Choice Massachusetts is the lead sponsor of the Yes on 2 campaign. In addition, it has the formal endorsements of the Democratic Party of Massachusetts, the Libertarian Party of Massachusetts, the Green-Rainbow Party, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters, RepresentUs, and many other organizations.^[8]^[9]

In a September 2020 editorial for the Boston Globe, Senator Elizabeth Warren endorsed ranked choice voting, arguing, "By requiring the winner to reach more than 50 percent of the vote, ranked-choice voting ensures the winning candidate is the one with the broadest appeal to the majority of voters. The ability to mobilize the broadest and deepest appeal across the electorate would replace the ability to target a passionate minority constituency, which may be extreme or nonrepresentative from the standpoint of most voters as the key to winning."^[10]

On October 11, the Editorial Board of The Boston Globe published Vote yes on Question 2, writing "with Question 2, Bay State voters can make our government far more representative of the will of the people."^[11]

Question 2 Endorsements

Political Parties

Senators

Representatives

State Officials

Bill Weld (Former Governor)
Deval Patrick (Former Governor)
William F. Galvin (Secretary of the Commonwealth)

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Cohort	Margin of error	Yes (for the initiative)	No (against the initiative)	Other	Undecided
YouGov/UMass Amherst	October 14–21, 2020	713 (LV)	All	± 4.5%	48%	43%	–	9%
Ipsos/Spectrum News	October 7–15, 2020	1,001 (A)	All	± 3.5%	45%	34%	–	21%
MassInc./WBUR	August 6–9, 2020	501 (LV)	All	± 4.4%	36%	36%	1%^[b]	27%
		323 (LV)	Respondents who say they understand RCV very well or somewhat well	± 5.6%	48%	35%	2%^[c]	15%
		161 (LV)	Respondents who say they do not understand RCV very well or do not understand it at all	± 7.9%	14%	38%	0%	48%

Results

Question 2
Choice	Votes	%
No	1,877,447	54.78
Yes	1,549,919	45.22
Valid votes	3,427,366	93.69
Total votes	3,658,005	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	4,812,909	76.00
Source: ^[12]^[13]

Notes

^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
^ "Refused" with 1%
^ "Refused" with 2%

References

^ Simón Rios (November 4, 2020). "Voters Say 'No' To Ranked-Choice Voting In Mass". WBUR. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
^ "On election-reform Ballot Measure 2, backers and opponents don't follow party lines". Anchorage Daily News. September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
^ "Ranked Choice Voting in Maine | Maine State Legislature". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ "A short history of federal electoral reform in Australia". Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ "Dail Elections since 1918". www.ark.ac.uk. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
^ "Ranked Choice Voting 101". FairVote. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
^ "New York City Voters Just Adopted Ranked-Choice Voting in Elections". Time. November 6, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
^ "Massachusetts Question 2, Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2020)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
^ "Who Supports YES ON 2?". Yes on 2 Ranked Choice Voting. Ranked Choice Voting 2020 Committee. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
^ Warren, Elizabeth; Raskin, Jamie (September 18, 2020). "Ranked-choice voting is a better way to vote - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
^ "Vote yes on Question 2 - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. October 11, 2020. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 15, 2020.
^ "PD43+ » 2020 - Statewide - Question 2Do you approve of a law summarized below, on which no vote was taken by the Senate or the House of Representatives on or before May 5, 2020?". PD43+. Retrieved January 17, 2021..
^ "Voter Turnout Statistics". www.sec.state.ma.us. Retrieved January 17, 2021..

v t e State elections in Massachusetts
General	1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1982 1986 1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Governor	1780 1781 1782 1783 1784 1785 1786 1787 1788 1789 1790 1791 1792 1793 1794 1795 1796 1797 1798 1799 1800 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 (April) 1831 (November) 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1868 1869 1870 1871 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2014 2018 2022
Mass. Senate	1787 1788 ... 1824 ... 1908 ... 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Mass. House	2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022
Gov.'s Council	2002 2006 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024
"s/" = Special election See also: Political party strength in Massachusetts For federal elections, see Template:Federal elections in Massachusetts footer.