DeWine signs bill banning ranked-choice voting, as Ohio Democrats, Republicans are divided on the issue

Gov. Mike DeWine signed a measure Tuesday to ban ranked-choice voting in Ohio, prompting yet another clash between the state’s Republicans and Democrats.

Even though DeWine, a Republican, signed Senate Bill 63, introduced by state Sens. Theresa Gavaronne, R-Bowling Green, and Bill DeMore, D-Columbus, as of Wednesday, no jurisdiction had implemented the system in Ohio, according to 13 ABC.

Under the ranked-choice system, voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than voting just for a single one. If no candidate earns 50% of the initial vote, the ranked-choice system eliminates candidates until someone wins the election.

The bill bans ranked-choice voting only at the statewide level, but it also de facto bans it at the local level, because even though cities and local governments can still use the system, they would lose state funding. As expected, Republicans supported the bill, with Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, saying that the passing of the bill would prevent the implementation of the “convoluted” and “damaging” voting system, according to The Dayton Daily News.

“I think most of the ranked choice voting concepts are pretty confusing. I think even the people who want to put them on aren’t quite sure who wins and who makes the finals and all of that,” he told the news outlet.

State Rep. Ron Ferguson, R-Wintersville, also supported the bill, saying the ban will ensure a voter votes for one person rather than many, according to the Statehouse News Bureau.

“Banning ranked choice voting ensures one person, one vote,” he said, according to the news outlet. “We aren’t voting for three of four or five people. We are voting for one person.”

On the other hand, Ohio Democrats were not very happy about DeWine signing the bill.

Even though Ohio Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood, initially favored the bill, she later changed her mind, backing Ohioans who want to implement the ranked-choice voting system.

“I’ve listened to my constituents who have made it clear that this is the best option for our community,” she said, according to The Dayton Daily News. “I am changing my previous vote to stand with those who support ranked choice voting in my district and our state.”

Most Ohio House Democrats opposed the bill, with only state Rep. Dan Troy, D-Willowick, supporting the bill, voting alongside every Republican in the state House.

Ohio House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati, told The Dayton Daily News that he didn’t support the bill because he doesn’t think that the legislature should tell local governments “what they can try.”

“If they want to try something new, great. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, let’s move on,” he said. “We talk a lot in the country about how our states and our cities and our communities are laboratories of democracy, that’s how we make progress.”

Aside from politicians, others, such as Ohio Municipal League Executive Director Kent Scarrett, also criticized the move, saying the state government should use local government funding as leverage to influence local authorities, according to The Columbus Dispatch.

“The best decisions about local governance should be made at the local level – by the communities and leaders closest to the people they serve,” Scarrett said. “Establishing a precedent where state funding can be cut off when local officials make decisions that state officeholders may not agree with is concerning and undermines that principle.”