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Charlie Baker, Karyn Polito Come Out Against Ranked-Choice Voting

October 28, 2020

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and lieutenant governor Karyn Polito won’t be supporting ranked-choice voting this November.

Baker and Polito put out a joint statement on Tuesday morning in which they announced they would be voting no on Question 2, which would implement ranked-choice voting in Massachusetts.

“At a time when we need to be promoting turnout and making it easier for voters to cast their ballots, we worry that question two will add an additional layer of complication for both voters and election officials, while potentially delaying results and increasing the cost of elections,” they wrote. “We believe the system we have now has served the Commonwealth well, and intend to vote ‘no’ on question two.”

The statement earned praise from the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.

“Now is not the time to make Massachusetts elections more confusing and harder to participate in. Ranked Choice Voting has been proven to lower voter turnout, decrease people’s confidence in the electoral process, and does not even ensure that candidates are elected by a majority of voters. It consistently fails to deliver on its tall list of promises wherever it is implemented.  We are pleased to learn that Governor Baker and Lt. Governor Polito have come out against Ranked Choice Voting and hope conservative, moderate and liberal voters will come together to reject the scheme next Tuesday,” Paul Diego Craney, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, said in a statement.


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