Draft:Final Five Voting

Final Five Voting is an election style that uses a single-ballot open primary in which all registered voters may vote and in which the top-five candidates advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation. While final five voting uses a ranked choice ballot, it is different from simple ranked-choice voting in its combination of a single ballot primary in which ALL registered voters can vote for any candidate, and an instant runoff general election. [DISAMBIGUATION: Ranked Choice Voting] On a ranked choice ballot, voters mark candidates from any parties in their order of preference, assigning a rank of 1st choice, 2nd, 3rd, and so on. If a candidate wins an outright majority of votes (more than 50 percent) at the first tally, they are elected to the office. If not, an instant runoff takes place: the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their voters’ next choice selections are applied to the remaining candidates. The process continues until a candidate achieves a majority. In November 2021, TIME media published an article about Final Five Voting titled "If We're Serious About Saving American Democracy, This Voting System Might Be the Key."

History
The Final-Five Voting concept was preceded by a Final-Four Voting system also proposed by Katherine Gehl, an American business leader turned political innovator and philanthropist and Harvard professor Michael Porter three years earlier in a report they wrote for Harvard Business School in 2017. In “Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America,” they made the case for an open, single-ballot top-four primary followed by an instant-runoff voting general election. The authors further developed the proposal in their 2020 book The Politics Industry, in which they expanded the primary recommendation from advancing the top four candidates as determined by number of votes, to the top five.

In 2021,  American businessman, attorney and politician Andrew Yang endorsed a similar proposal in his book, Forward: Notes on the Future of our Democracy and cites Final-Five Voting as an inspiration for a pillar of his Forward political party.

Development of an election system that combines a single-ballot primary followed by an instant-runoff is designed to address root issues of incentives in what Gehl and Porter described as the “politics industry” of the United States. Politics Industry Theory maintains that standard industry evaluation techniques and competition thinking like Porter’s five forces analysis can be applied to the U.S. election system to produce election results more reflective of the true preferences of voters.

Comparison to Other Voting Methods
Final-Five Voting combines two changes to the American electoral system: an inclusive Primary Ballot and ranked-choice voting with instant run-off general elections. Together, those changes address the fundamental issues that prevent political candidates from focusing on the public interest. The traditional American election system incentivizes candidates to appeal to a single party’s primary voters and special interests. Final-Five Voting incentivizes candidates to work for a majority of general election voters instead. Final Five Voting won’t necessarily change the outcome of who wins an election, but it would influence what the election winners are expected to do when once in office because the election system rewards problem-solving behaviors of negotiating, deal-making, and finding consensus solutions in a way the current party-primary dominant system doesn’t.

Maine
Maine voters approved ranked choice voting in a ballot measure in 2016 and have used it in state and national elections since then, including the presidential election of 2020. The change in election system followed Maine Governor Paul LePage's back-to-back victories in 2010 and 2014. In both cases, he won with less than 50% of the vote due to impact of third-party candidates taking votes from the two major parties. The switch to ranked choice voting in Maine was challenged in the courts, but the Maine Supreme Judicial Court rejected the arguments before the June 2018 primaries.

Alaska
On November 3, 2020, a Final-Four Voting structure was adopted by the state of Alaska via a public referendum. On November 8, 2022, Alaska conducted midterm elections via “Final Four Voting.” The election resulted in moderate candidates from both major parties [Senator Lisa Murkowski (R) and Rep. Mary Peltola (D)] prevailing in their races against thanks to rank choice voting. Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy (R) held on to his seat with a majority at the first vote count, precluding the need for an instant runoff.

Nevada
In November 2022, Nevada voters approved a ballot measure that established open primary elections in which the top five candidates advance and then a ranked-choice voting system for general elections.

Earlier in 2022, a lawsuit challenging the initiative was filed, based on claims that the election change initiative violated the state’s single-subject on a ballot rule, a rule about addition of a cost without a funding source, and an allegation of a deficient “description of effect,” the 200-word summary that accompanies the signature form for the petition. The case was argued by attorneys Marc Elias and Bradley Schrager, but was unsuccessful in blocking the ballot. A Carson City judge ruled in favor of allowing the proposal for open primaries and a ranked-choice general election on the ballot – a decision that was upheld by the Nevada Supreme Court – and the proposal passed in November 2022.

Wisconsin
In March 2021, legislation to enact Final-Five Voting was proposed in Wisconsin with bipartisan support. The proposed measure is in the hearings phase. The State Assembly continues to debate the merits of Final Five Voting.

Missouri
In Missouri, a citizen-driven organization, Better Elections, is advocating for ranked-choice voting, but it did not make it onto the general election ballot in 2022 because the group had not collected the required 171,592 valid signatures.

New York City
In June, 2021, New York City began using ranked choice voting for primary and special elections for local offices, including Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council. There is also a grassroots movement under way in New York City aimed at promoting the adoption of Final Five Voting. An organization called Final Five Voting NYC, with support from New Yorkers for Competitive Elections, is comprised of local political, community, and business leaders and organizations from all five boroughs and across the political spectrum.

Georgia
In Georgia, a group called Georgians United is promoting Final-Five Voting.

Other
NBC News reported (January 16, 2023) “at least 14 states will consider bills that would move them to [ranked-choice voting]” in 2023.

In Idaho, where ranked choice voting is under consideration, the Idaho Capitol Sun published an article on December 18, 2023, "How a new way to vote is gaining traction in states — and could transform US politic," about Final Five Voting.