Ranked-Choice Voting moves ahead in Minnesota

Exclusive Center of the American Experiment poll finds no popular support for the measure.

As we’ve previously reported, SF 2270/HF 2486 has been introduced at the state legislature and would implement ranked choice voting (RCV) for all state and federal elections beginning in 2026.

The bill took its first step toward law today, passing through the Senate’s Elections committee.

The Center of the American Experiment polled voters on this question last month and found no groundswell of support for the measure.

During the period February 26-28, our polling company interviewed 500 registered voters in Minnesota, as part of our quarterly Thinking Minnesota poll.

Less than half (49 percent) of voters say that they familiar with RCV, and only 20 percent claim to be “very familiar.”

Only 1/3 of voters (34 percent) say that they support Ranked-Choice voting, and only 15 percent strongly support. The rest are evenly split between opposition or have no opinion.

Not surprisingly, Democrats are the most familiar with RCV (61 percent) and the most supportive (56 percent). Republicans are less familiar, but oppose the idea by a plurality of 14 percent in favor, 48 percent opposed.

But in what should give Democrats pause, Independents lean against RCV by a margin of 23 percent in favor, with 30 percent opposed.

With RCV being used in the state’s largest, most liberal cities, more than 1 in 4 Democrats have personal experience with the voting method, versus 1 in 9 for both Republicans and Independents.

There is no popular support in Minnesota for Ranked-Choice voting.