HOUGHTON — The method by which millions of Michiganders vote could change in the fall of 2026. Rank MI Vote, a nonpartisan organization, is seeking to bring ranked choice voting to Michigan.

Ranked choice voting, also known as RCV, allows voters to select multiple candidates on their ballot. Voters would choose candidates in order of preference. If one’s first choice vote can’t win, their vote automatically counts towards their second choice.

In order for Michigan to make the switch to RCV, voters would have to adopt a ballot proposal and vote to alter the Michigan State Constitution. To get the measure on the ballot in November 2026, Rank MI Vote needs at least 446,198 signatures from Michigan voters. The change would make RCV the standard in primary and general presidential elections, as well as U.S. House and Senate, and state gubernatorial races.

“Most places would benefit from Ranked Choice Voting, but, thankfully, Michigan is a state where that change can be enacted through a voter-led ballot initiative petition,” said Alex Yerkey, the Communications Director for Rank MI Vote. “The biggest benefit of Ranked Choice Voting in Michigan would be that it guarantees winners are supported by a majority of voters.”

“Right now, voters are punished when they’re given more choice in an election,” Yerkey continued. “Adding a third candidate means the worst possible candidate can win with just 34% of the vote. Giving voters the ability to express their preferences for candidates through ranking ensures more than half of voters support the winning candidate. Michigan frequently elects candidates in big races despite the majority of voters pulling the lever for someone else. Ranked Choice Voting provides a better and more representative way to elect our leaders.”

According to Yerkey, public feedback on the effort to move to RCV has been “incredible.”

“Michiganders are hungry for a simple, practical reform that gives them more and better choices at the polls,” he said. “Before we printed a single petition, thousands of Michiganders had signed up to volunteer with us, with much more support from younger voters than constitutional reform campaigns are used to seeing. We passed the Michigan Board of Canvassers unanimously last Friday, which clears the procedural hurdle stopping our volunteers from getting signatures on petitions. By far, the most common comment we’re seeing from voters on social media is a very simple question, ‘Where and when can I sign?'”

RCV also has some local support. According to Faith Morrison, Co-President of the Copper Country League of Women Voters (LWV), “In general, we like the idea that voters can vote their true first choice without worrying that their vote will be ‘wasted’ if that candidate does not seem to have a chance of winning.” Morrison added that while the LWV hasn’t come to an official decision on whether or not to support RCV, they are studying the method and having a “lively discussion”.

Morrison added that there is “nothing particularly special” about the state’s current voting system.

“It has flaws and strange and undesirable outcomes from time to time,” she said. “We should try to get comfortable with other methods that might be better … Why not? Let’s let our minds run wild into unfamiliar methods and see what we like best. The best part of self-governance is that it is up to us, the voters.”

When asked how close Rank MI Vote was to getting RCV on the ballot in 2026, Yerkey compared the organization’s efforts to a football game.

“We just received the opening kickoff,” he said. The organization needs to collect those 446,198 valid signatures in only six months.

“That’s not a small task by any means,” Yerkey said. “But our volunteers are energized and ready to leave everything out on the field. Once the signatures are collected and verified, the amendment will officially be on the ballot.”

To learn more about Rank MI Vote’s goal, visit rankmivote.org.