(Honors Thesis under the direction of Dr. William Goldsmith)
This thesis is an investigation into how the two major parties interact with ranked choice voting – an alternative to traditional means of conducting elections. My primary research question explores what the relationship is between stated political affiliation and opinion on ranked choice voting among eligible voters in the US. While still a relatively new concept, there is thorough academic literature into the potential benefits of ranked choice voting in improving voter satisfaction and engagement and reducing political polarization. The aim of this research paper is to fill a gap where academic research on this topic seems to be absent – who exactly understands and supports ranked choice voting? This paper implements univariate, bivariate, multivariate, and geographic analyses to answer this question and provide demographic insights that can advise policymakers on strategies to educate people on this topic and its potential to improve the power of the vote. These analyses found that democrats are more likely to both understand and support ranked choice voting, that a large majority of ranked choice voting municipalities are politically blue areas, and that individuals with a voting history are more likely to understand ranked choice voting – all of these findings are backed with statistical significances.