What's up with Democrats and ranked choice voting for 2028?

A proposed rules change the DNC is poised to adopt in Austin this week has triggered worries in some states and stirred backlash among RCV proponents. But is it in danger of not passing?

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More than two months ago the DNC Rules and Bylaws Committee (RBC) initially passed some changes to the party’s delegate selection rules for 2028 that would effectively ban the use of ranked choice voting (RCV) in the delegate allocation process for the upcoming presidential nomination race. It was a bit of news that remained mostly quiet in the immediate aftermath as FHQ noted at the time. And all remained that way when the panel revisited the issue at its June meeting and rejected an amended version, sticking with the original tweak to Rule 14.A.

Now, the entire set of changes made by the RBC to the rules for 2028 is on the verge of coming before the full DNC for a final vote at its summer meeting in Austin, TX. And with it, rumblings about the RCV change are seemingly increasing. But the budding backlash to the change is, on the one hand, misguided and, on the other, missing some context that is important to the consideration of why the DNC may be heading down this particular path for this cycle. Below the fold, FHQ will contextualize matters a bit.

Let’s dig in…