The Guardian quotes Fried in article on ranked-choice voting in New York City
The Guardian quoted Amy Fried, professor and chair of the political science department at the University of Maine, in an article about New York City considering adopting ranked-choice voting. This could address the problem of large numbers of candidates running for the same position, which can result in the “spoiler effect” — when a vote is split between multiple candidates with similar ideologies, leading to a candidate with an opposing platform to win, according to The Guardian. This happened in Maine during the state’s 2010 gubernatorial race, when Paul LePage won with just over 38% of the vote. “There was a political sensibility that said here’s this person who was never terribly popular, wins with two pluralities, extremely extemporaneous governor and candidate, and yet he wins,” said Fried. Many voters were upset that LePage won without a majority, according to Fried, which happened again during LePage’s reelection in 2014 and led to the introduction of ranked-choice voting in the state. The system was used in Maine congressional races for the first time during the 2018 midterms and will be used in the 2020 general election for president, the article states.