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That's a great follow-up question! Since pluralistic voting systems like ranked choice voting have real benefits and are already being implemented in various places, the key question becomes how to accelerate adoption and overcome the political and practical barriers.Based on the research, here are the most effective strategies for spreading ranked choice voting:

Start Local, Build Momentum

The most proven strategy is going local first — winning municipal RCV enactments is crucial for increasing public understanding and building activist capacity. California's approach demonstrates this perfectly, with 27 local wins in a row showing that voters want RCV when they understand it.

Key Organizations Leading the Charge

Several major groups are coordinating this effort:

• Rank the Vote: Catalyzes grassroots movements nationwide by equipping advocates with proven tools, resources, and strategies
• FairVote: Works as a nonpartisan organization advancing voting reforms for all Americans
• RepresentUs: Leads America's largest grassroots anti-corruption movement, working city-by-city and state-by-state
• RCV Resource Center: Supports jurisdictions implementing RCV and offers free, open-source tabulation software used in New York and Utah

Proven Tactics That Work

The movement uses a four-pillar approach: building people (volunteers & supporters), money (grassroots fundraising), endorsements (coalitions & public figures), and local campaign wins.

Financial messaging resonates strongly — RCV adoption was motivated by cost savings in places like San Francisco and Minneapolis, eliminating expensive runoff elections.

Campaign civility is another winning argument. Studies show RCV candidates use more positive language and engage in more accommodative campaigning.

The Challenge: Political Resistance

The biggest obstacle isn't public opinion — since 2020, voters in seven states have rejected RCV ballot initiatives, and nineteen states have banned it entirely. This suggests the real battle is against entrenched political interests who benefit from the current system.

The movement is adapting by focusing on defensive campaigns — actively mobilizing grassroots opposition to defeat RCV repeal efforts and ban bills — alongside expansion efforts.

What specific angle interests you most? The grassroots organizing playbook, the financial/efficiency argument, or strategies for overcoming political resistance at the state level?

Based on the research, here's the clearest answer to your strategic question:

Local-First Strategy Is The Winner

The data strongly supports starting with cities and building up. Here's why this approach is most likely to shift the whole system:

Local wins work: RCV had better success at the local level, including in the District of Columbia; Bloomington, Minnesota; Oak Park and Peoria, Illinois; and Richmond, California, even while statewide measures failed across the board in 2024.

Cities become proof of concept: Local implementation would work the most effectively. City councils and county commissioners can move toward enacting ranked choice voting at the lower levels of government first as a way to expose voters to this new electoral process. Once successful locally, it can be implemented at the state level.

Voter familiarity matters: The measure had majority support in jurisdictions that currently use ranked choice voting, such as Multnomah (home to Portland) and Benton counties — showing that experience with RCV breeds support.

Why State-Level Fails

The numbers are stark: voters in Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Oregon rejected ballot measures that would have adopted ranked choice voting, while nineteen states have adopted laws prohibiting the use of RCV in any elections.

The opposition is organized and well-funded at the state level, where local political party leadership campaigned against the measure in multiple states.

The Multiplication Effect

Cities create a demonstration effect that builds momentum. NYC may prove the most visible success story yet, going a long way to familiarize people across the country with fair voting systems. When major cities like NYC and DC adopt RCV, it normalizes the concept nationwide.

Bottom line: Focus on winnable local races, build voter familiarity, demonstrate success, then leverage that credibility for state-level campaigns. The "laboratories for democracy" approach works because it creates real-world proof that politicians can't easily dismiss.

What specific cities or regions do you think would be the most strategic targets for this local-first approach?