Poll Shows Little Support for Ranked Choice Voting

As bills to dramatically change the way Minnesota conducts statewide elections using ranked choice voting begin to move through legislative committees, the latest Thinking Minnesota poll finds very tepid support for the concept. Less than half of Minnesotans (49%) are familiar with ranked choice voting, and only 34% said they supported the practice.

The poll was conducted for Thinking Minnesota by Meeting Street Insights, a nationally recognized polling operation based in Charleston, South Carolina. Using a mix of cell phones and landline phones, the company interviewed 500 registered voters across Minnesota from February 26-28, 2023. The margin of error is +-4.38 percent.

American Experiment’s analysis of ranked choice voting shows that politics become more polarized, not less, when the system is used to select candidates.

Ranked choice voting questions:

How familiar are you with the practice of ranked choice voting or instant runoff voting?

20% VERY FAMILIAR
29% SOMEWHAT FAMILIAR

20% NOT THAT FAMILIAR

27% NOT AT ALL FAMILIAR

3% DON’T KNOW/NOT SURE

1% REFUSED

49% TOTAL FAMILIAR
47% TOTAL NOT FAMILIAR

Based on what you know, do you support or oppose the practice of ranked choice voting in Minnesota elections?

15% STRONGLY SUPPORT

19% SOMEWHAT SUPPORT

17% SOMEWHAT OPPOSE

16% STRONGLY OPPOSE

25% NO OPINION

8% REFUSED

34% TOTAL SUPPORT

33% TOTAL OPPOSE

“Ramming ranked choice voting though the legislature without educating Minnesotans on how it will change the way they vote is a bad idea,” said John Hinderaker, President of Center of the American Experiment.

This is the second issue in the current Thinking Minnesota poll where the legislature appears to be out of sync with most Minnesotans. Last week Gov. Walz signed a bill restoring the vote for convicted felons that is opposed by 60% of poll respondents. More poll results will be released in the next issue of Thinking Minnesota magazine.