What are we proposing? What is Final Five Voting?

Final Five Voting (FFV) is the combination of an open primary (August) where the top five primary winners advance to the general election (November), and the winner(s) are determined by using Rank Choice Voting (RCV).

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What is an open primary?

In an open primary, all candidates will appear on the same ballot and compete under the same rules, and all registered voters will use that same ballot to cast their vote for their preferred candidate(s). In an open primary, the use of taxpayer funds to pay for private political party primaries would be prohibited.

 

What is RCV?

A system of voting where voters choose their favorite to least favorite candidates. The selection process involves rounds of instant runoffs, where candidates with the highest first-place votes progress, and the candidate with the fewest first-place votes gets eliminated in each round until a winner can be determined.

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How will RCV work? 

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Round 1: All first-choice votes are counted. If no candidate has more than 50% of first-choice votes the candidate with the least first-choice votes (the fifth-place candidate) is eliminated.
 

Round 2: Votes are transferred from the eliminated candidate to the next-ranked candidate indicated on a voter’s ballot. Votes are then re-tallied. * Election officials only count a voter’s second or third choice if the voter’s first choice is eliminated.

Round 3+: This process continues until a candidate that has received the most support from all voters is determined.

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What changes with FFV?
 

• Every Voter, Every Election: any registered voter can vote in any election for any candidate they want.

  • Currently: the partisan primary system, paid for by all taxpayers, excludes voters not affiliated with a political party from participating. A voter who does not belong to a party must select a party ballot to vote in a Primary election.
     

• Competition Produces Better Choices: makes elected officials accountable to most voters and leads to better choices, better results, and a stronger Arizona.

  • Currently:  70% of Arizona voters DO NOT believe our elected officials are focused on the issues they care about most.
     

• Stop Politics of Division – Build Consensus: encourages candidates to be responsive to all constituents and combats the politics of division and incentivizes candidates to prioritize the issues we agree upon.

  • Currently: our system of voting for the lesser of two evils rewards elected politicians that do not focus on the issues we care about most.
     

• Your Voice and Your Vote Matter: open elections will give voters equal opportunity to weigh in on who is elected.  Your vote will always matter even if your first choice is eliminated. 

  • Currently: our summer primary election system is by far the most visible way we have turned power over to our most partisan, polarized citizens.
     

• Equal Treatment: treats all candidates and voters equally by allowing them to compete under the same rules.

  • Currently:  unaffiliated candidates must collect more than 6x the number of signatures and do not appear on the primary ballot.