To the Editor,

Voting is our constitutional right as citizens and residents of Rhode Island. We need everyone to vote without any confusion. Whether you are Democrat, Republican or Unaffiliated, Rank Choice Voting (RCV) will affect you! RI State lawmakers are considering RCV for the 2028 Presidential Election.

What Rank Choice Voting does is give options to rank candidates in primaries as first, second, third choice and so on. Then they have rounds. Your candidate must pass the rounds in order to win. If not, it goes to the 2nd choice, and then then next round, and so on, until there is a winner of over 50%.

The concern is the voters won't be educated with how this works. If something is too confusing, many will shy away from voting. We need people to vote! Alaska implemented Rank Choice Voting for the 2020 election and have regretted it since. They have it on their upcoming election to repeal Rank Choice Voting. RCV undermines voter confidence and leads to slower election results and increased irregularities. RI lawmakers should prohibit RCV statewide and pre-empt local jurisdictions from adopting RCV for local elections.

Educating voters can be challenging as we are at all different stages in our life. As a nursing home supervisor for the Board of Elections, I have seen firsthand how nursing home residents and mental health hospital voters might not be able to understand the process and become too overwhelmed and would rather wait to vote in the general election. In no way should voting ever be a challenge for any Rhode Islander! We need voting to be clear as they are with directions now.

Please consider signing this petition so the Rhode Island legislature can see that this isn't acceptable for RI voters. We need RI Lawmakers to vote NO for Bill S2425 & H7540.

Remember that your vote is your voice, and you need it to count! You can sign the petition at: https://chng.it/M6W5bTZWpG

Thank you!

Sandra Taylor, of Johnston