Could "Approval Voting" Fix the Biggest Problem in American Elections?

Great Ideas

Today, we cover the system we use for determining the winner of an election. It has as much impact on our current political dysfunction -- including lack of trust in elections -- as any other factor. Many scholars contend that if we could get the system right, we could fundamentally improve faith in our democracy and lower the chances of a complete meltdown (which are uncomfortably high). One of those experts is Aaron Hamlin, the Executive Director of the Center for Election Science. He’s been featured as an electoral systems expert on MSNBC, NPR, and many other outlets, and he not only believes that better election systems using alternative voting methods would be better for America, but he also has a particular favorite to suggest. Approval voting" is a system that fewer people have heard about than Ranked Choice Voting, but it may deliver many of the same benefits while being simpler, easier to understand, and better for restoring trust in the system.