How Top Three Gives Voters More Viable Choices Without Complicating Elections

Most Americans say they do not feel represented by the choices they have of candidates on their November ballot. Top Three is an improvement to election rules that allows every voter to participate in an open primary, advances three candidates to the general election, and lets voters choose between each pair of finalists.

This week, we Claire Woodall, a former election official and director of strategic engagement at Better Choices for Democracy, and Dr. Eric Pacuit, a professor at the University of Maryland and Board Member at Better Choices for Democracy, shared how and why Top Three works both for voters and for election officials.

Claire emphasized that the system can work with current election infrastructure: “It can all be done using the existing equipment and existing software. It doesn’t require upgrades. It doesn’t require changing equipment…It’s the same familiar ballot for voters.” Precinct-level reporting, canvassing, audits, and recounts would also continue to work much as they do today.

In the general election, each candidate faces the other two head-to-head, like a round-robin sports tournament. Voters select the candidate they prefer in each matchup, and the winner is the candidate that beats every other candidate head-to-head. Professor Pacuit described this ballot as “the minimal first step beyond just asking who do you vote for” because it gathers enough information to identify the candidate with the broadest support in an electorate while retaining the familiar experience of choosing one candidate at a time. The result is a transparent, verifiable election designed to give voters more viable choices and encourage candidates to listen to and consider more perspectives, both while campaigning and once in office.

Learn more and try it for yourself: https://www.betterchoices.vote/top3.