"INSTEAD OF PICKING ONE CANDIDATE WHEN YOU VOTE, YOU RANK THEM.
How does it work? What are the benefits?
In the November 2022 election, voters in Evanston Illinois approved the use of ranked choice voting in certain local elections beginning in 2025. Evanston thus became the first jurisdiction in Illinois to adopt a form of RCV. Some see RCV as a way to determine who has the strongest support; to encourage civil campaigning; to lessen "wasted" votes; and to reduce the need for multiple elections. Various forms of this electoral system have been adopted in a diversity of jurisdictions in the U.S., such as cities and towns in Utah, Colorado, and California; New York City, Minneapolis, and San Francisco; and the States of Maine and Alaska.
At our virtual meeting on Zoom at 7:00 pm on Thursday February 8th, Alisa Kaplan, Executive Director of Reform For Illinois (formerly the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform), will speak to us on the subject of RCV. Alisa joined Reform for Illinois in 2018, drawn to the organization’s long history of fighting for campaign finance reform and against systemic corruption. As Executive Director, she leads RFI’s policy development, advocacy, and educational initiatives and oversees operations.
A Yale graduate with a J.D. and Ph.D. in Political Science from Northwestern University, Alisa brings expertise in law and the political process and a background in community organizing, grassroots activism, and nonprofit administration. She has been a Faculty Lecturer in Constitutional Law, Civil Rights, and Law and Politics at Northwestern, and is co-president of the Board of Open Communities, a Chicago-area civil rights and housing justice organization. In her role at RFI, Alisa feels fortunate to be able to spend every day fighting for a more ethical and equitable Illinois government that works not just for the wealthy and well-connected, but for everyone.
Alisa is also on the Board of the League of Women Voters of Evanston.
