Primary Runoff Elections and Decline in Voter Turnout

A primary runoff election is held if no candidate surpasses the necessary threshold for victory in the initial primary election. Voter awareness of the system and a dip in enthusiasm following the initial primary has resulted in a trend of voter turnout dropping in the runoff election. Low turnout in the runoff defeats the purpose of holding a runoff election: to increase the likelihood that the winning candidate accurately represents the party and the party’s voters. To combat this problem, this report suggests implementing a “instant runoff” election, also known as ranked choice voting, which gives voters the chance to express their true preferences, costs significantly less money for jurisdictions and candidates, and shrinks the multiple round election to a single, more accessible election.