IVP Applauds Democracy Found's Top-Four Initiative with Ranked Choice Voting in Wisconsin

The Independent Voter Project (IVP) is proud to support a new effort by Katherine Gehl and her organization, Democracy Found, in Wisconsin to implement a nonpartisan top-four open primary with ranked choice voting in the general election.

"IVP fully supports the Wisconsin effort to combine RCV with a top-four open primary. Voters in Wisconsin will have greater choice and elections will be more competitive," says Dan Howle, Executive Director and Chair of IVP.

Gehl is on the advisory board of IVP, and is co-author of the groundbreaking Harvard Business School study, Why Competition in the Politics Industry is Failing America.

She says:

“Our work (the Gehl Porter Politics Industry Theory) illustrates the systemic problem of unhealthy competition in politics. The highest priority to change the nature of competition is electoral innovation. The combination of Top Four Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting General Elections realigns incentives for elected officials to work in the public interest.”

Sara Eskrich, Executive Director of Democracy Found, also commented:

“Only half of states have the ability to use ballot initiatives to implement reform, but all states have the opportunity to pass legislation. Legislative states across the country are necessary to the national movement for political innovation. Wisconsin is positioned well, through a cross-partisan leadership coalition of business leaders, to again be a leader in systemic innovation.”

Read the full story out of Wisconsin here.

IVP, with the support of the National Association of Nonpartisan Reformers, is considering this reform to upgrade the existing nonpartisan, top-two open primary in California. Stay tuned.