Vance: Ranked-choice voting is confusing

Vice President JD Vance said on Thursday that he does not understand ranked-choice voting. The comment came while he addressed reporters about the U.S. Senate race in Alaska, a state where residents approved the method in 2020.

Vance argued that the person who wins the most votes should win the election. He stated that this outcome does not seem to happen under ranked-choice voting. "It seems to me that you have an election, the person who wins the most votes should win. That seems to be not what happens with ranked-choice voting," Vance said.

He added that he is not a big fan of the system. Vance noted that the method is confusing to someone who pays close attention to politics. He suggested that the country should conduct elections in what he called the normal way, where a candidate with more votes than the opponent wins.

Polls indicate that a majority of American voters, including those in Alaska, favor ranked-choice voting. This data contrasts with Vance's claim that the system is difficult to grasp. The vice president's stance implies that the popular vote should determine all elections, a position that conflicts with the current use of the Electoral College for presidential races.

Critics quickly responded to Vance's remarks on social media. Dan Pfeiffer, co-host of the show Pod Save America, posted on X that readers should wait until Vance hears about the Electoral College. Other users pointed out that the candidate with the most votes does not always become president, referencing Trump's path to the White House.

Steven Monacelli, a special investigative correspondent for The Texas Observer, called Vance's comment another indictment against the Ivy League. One user described the vice president as a professional at pretending to be a dumbass. Vance graduated from Yale Law School.