Ranked choice voting lets voters rank candidates in order of preference instead of choosing just one. If no candidate wins a majority of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and each of their voters' ballots count for their next choice instead. The process repeats until one candidate has more than half the vote. It ends the spoiler effect: voting for the candidate you actually support no longer risks electing the candidate you like least.

Maine and Alaska already use ranked choice voting for federal elections. Alaska voters rejected a repeal attempt in 2024 by fewer than 200 votes out of more than 315,000 cast. About fifty U.S. cities use it for local elections.

Michigan does not use ranked choice voting anywhere. Five Michigan cities, Ann Arbor, East Lansing, Ferndale, Kalamazoo, and Royal Oak, have passed local ballot measures to adopt it, but none can take effect because state election law conflicts with the preferential ballot provision still on the books in the Home Rule City Act. In August 2025, the Michigan House passed House Bill 4707 along party lines, which would ban ranked choice voting outright statewide and for every municipality. It remains pending in the Senate. A citizen-led effort to put ranked choice voting into the state constitution, Rank MI Vote, paused its signature drive for the 2026 ballot in December 2025 after facing organized opposition, and is now aiming for 2028.

As Senator, Lydia will:

• Oppose any national-level legislation that attempts to ban ranked choice voting, leaving the choice to states and voters where it belongs.