Honest Elections Project files amicus brief to AZ Supreme Court over ranked-choice voting initiative

The Honest Elections Project (HEP) has filed an amicus brief with the Arizona Supreme Court against a ballot initiative that would change the state's elections to ranked-choice voting (RCV) if approved by voters this November.

A trial court found that the “Make Elections Fair” ballot initiative on RCV complies with the state Constitution. However, HEP argues in its brief that the ballot initiative attempts to amend multiple provisions in the Arizona Constitution rather than only one and amending other provisions with additional ballot proposals.

RCV is an election process being introduced in states across the country, but is facing pushback from both sides of the political aisle, including efforts to ban it. With RCV, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, then a runoff system is triggered. When voters cast their ballots, they rank each candidate in order of first-to-last. 

If one candidate doesn't reach the 50% plus-one vote threshold, then the candidate with the least amount of first-choice votes is eliminated, then second-choice votes from those who voted for the last-place finisher are reallocated among the remaining candidates and tallied – in a process that continues until a candidate receives the majority of the vote. 

Proponents of RCV argue that the system results in representative outcomes and majority rule, incentivizes positive campaigning, allows for more voter choice, and saves money when replacing preliminaries or runoffs, according to pro-RCV organization FairVote. 

On Thursday, HEP announced the brief was filed on Wednesday in the case brought against the state of Arizona and Make Elections Fair by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.

"By implementing jungle primaries and ranked-choice voting in general elections, among other things, the so-called ‘Make Elections Fair’ initiative clearly violates the Arizona Constitution’s Separate Amendment Rule," HEP Executive Director Jason Snead said in a statement Thursday. "Obviously, primaries and general elections are different subjects. The Arizona Supreme Court should reverse the trial court’s ruling and strip this initiative from the ballot in November."