Why does Lisa Brown want to change our voting system?
An advertisement from Lisa Brown’s 2018 campaign. She even prints her own ballots!
Posted 13 September 2023
Lisa Brown’s support of “Ranked Choice Voting” is based on the same ridiculous logic that led her to give millions of our taxpayer dollars to close camp hope - to the very people who created camp hope.
On September 8, 2023 Lisa Brown reported a maximum donation of $1,200 from FairVote Washington PAC. The political action committee ranked Lisa Brown with an “A+” on their slate. Candidates “Kitty” Klitzke and Paul Dillon received a rating of “A”. This means that the above candidates sought the “FairVote” endorsement and filled out their questionnaire.
FairVote Washington’s sole focus is to scrap our voting system and replace it with “Ranked Choice Voting” (RCV). Another radical solution looking for a problem, FairVote Washington’s website features a supporters page including,
“In Washington State, communities of color are about 30% of the state, but only 16% of the legislature, and in most places the disparity is worse at the local level. To get fair representation and a true multiracial democracy, we need ranked choice voting.” - Kamau Chege (He/Him) Director, Washington Community Alliance
“I support ranked-choice voting. We should be able to vote for our favorite candidates without fear.” - Alex Ramel, State Rep. Bellingham
Editor’s Note: I am all for more women in elected office, and the same goes for diversity. However, I, like most voters, believe in voting for the best person for the job, without regard to their race or creed. This is why I published our story on Betsy Wilkerson’s “Moneybomb” infusion of cash earlier this year that saw the Seattle-based “First Mile Circle” millionaires give close to $20,000 because Wilkerson is a BIPOC candidate.
It is always interesting when white millionaire lifelong professional politicians like Lisa Brown back policies that purport to bring a voice of diversity to public policy. The Washington State executive branch is all white. We don’t see Lisa Brown supporting Semi Byrd for governor.
Further, what voting fear is Rep. Ramel referring to at the ballot box?
Lisa Brown’s proposal to change our elections to ranked-choice voting is just another elitist attempt to confuse voters. Critics of the policy state that it will reduce voter participation and lead to undemocratic outcomes.
In essence, RCV causes voters to rank multiple candidates from their first to last choice, meaning that if a voter’s first-choice candidate does not win a majority, the second-choice candidate might get their vote. Confused? You are not alone This AP story describes last year’s ranked-choice process in Alaska.
The professional political machine is the big winner in this scheme. Consultants and Party Bosses not only buy votes for their chosen candidate, they also embark on ad campaigns to manipulate the second choice vote. Remember the old saying,
“If you like laws and you like hot dogs, never watch either one being made.” That goes double for ranked-choice voting.
During Spokane’s primary election for mayor, Spokane Democrats held strategic meetings to discuss voting for the extreme-right candidate in order to reduce the moderate mayor’s vote count. Imagine if Lisa Brown and her Seattle ranked-choice voting allies were to formalize their confusing process?