[EM] The "Make Elections Great Again Act"

[Kristofer Munsterhjelm]

On 2026-02-02 03:39, Rob Lanphier via Election-Methods wrote:
> Hi folks
> 
> In case you hadn't heard, the move to ban RCV (and all electoral reform) 
> has gone federal in the United States:
> https://legiscan.com/US/text/HB7300/id/3343097 
> <https://legiscan.com/US/text/HB7300/id/3343097>
> 
> Here's the press release:
> https://cha.house.gov/press-releases?id=460DC098-9C01-4F60-8BA5-E795D1501893 <https://cha.house.gov/press-releases?id=460DC098-9C01-4F60-8BA5-E795D1501893>
> 
> Here's some mainstream reporting about it:
> https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5712698-house-republicans-election-reform-bill/ <https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5712698-house-republicans-election-reform-bill/>
> 
> ...and here's a post I made to reddit about it earlier today:
> https://www.reddit.com/r/EndFPTP/comments/1qt80c8/proposed_ban_on_rcv_at_the_federal_level/ <https://www.reddit.com/r/EndFPTP/comments/1qt80c8/proposed_ban_on_rcv_at_the_federal_level/>
> 
> To quote the press release, this will:
> 
>   * Require photo identification to vote
>   * Require states to verify citizenship of individuals when registering
>     to vote
>   * Implement stronger routine voter list maintenance requirements in states
>   * Require mail-in ballots to be received by the close of polls on
>     election day
>   * Require states to use auditable paper ballots
>   * Ban ballot harvesting
>   * Ban ranked choice voting
>   * Ban universal vote by mail 
> 
> If you were thinking "/great!//  they're banning //RCV/IRV/", bear in 
> mind that the actual bill contains this:
>  > /"A State may not carry out a general election for Federal office in 
> the State using a voting system that— (1) permits a voter to vote for 
> more than one candidate for the same office; (2) permits a voter to rank 
> multiple candidates for the same office; or (3) reallocates the vote of 
> a voter from one candidate to another candidate for the same office."/

Great! Rated ballots forever, and/or two-round methods ("vote for more 
than one candidate for the /primary/, vote for only one candidate for 
office")!

Or maybe my mostly-in-jest Condorcet method: for n candidates, create 
n^2 random "districts", one per pairwise contest, and ask each voter in 
the (A,B) district "do you prefer A or B?"

More seriously, though, isn't this illegal? I had the impression that 
states were allowed to basically use whatever method they want to pick 
their electors.

-km