Albuquerque Rejects Ranked Choice Voting Proposal

Columnists argue ranked choice voting would confuse voters, risk errors and undermine simple, trusted elections in Albuquerque.

Apr. 5, 2026 at 10:56am

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Albuquerque's city council is considering a proposal to implement ranked choice voting for local elections, but columnists argue this would make the voting process more complicated, introduce new possibilities for errors and irregularities, and ultimately undermine the simplicity and transparency that voters prefer in elections.

Why it matters

Ranked choice voting has been a controversial issue in other cities, with voters in neighboring states rejecting it in recent ballot measures. The debate in Albuquerque highlights the broader tensions around electoral reforms and the desire for elections that are easy to understand and verify.

The details

Under ranked choice voting, voters would rank multiple candidates for each office rather than just selecting one. This would result in longer, more complex ballots that could increase the chances of voter mistakes. The counting process would also become more centralized and convoluted, with ballots potentially being counted multiple times as lower-ranked candidates are eliminated. Opponents argue this undermines the principle of one-person, one-vote and creates new opportunities for errors and irregularities.

  • The Albuquerque City Council is expected to take a final vote on the ranked choice voting proposal at their April 6 meeting.
  • In 2025, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that ranked choice voting was still causing confusion among voters nearly eight years after its implementation.

The players

Paul Gessing

President of the Rio Grande Foundation and an opponent of ranked choice voting in Albuquerque.

Trent England

An elections expert and the founder and executive director of Save Our States, who has also criticized ranked choice voting.

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What they’re saying

“The idea behind ranked choice voting is to get voters to express preferences about multiple candidates, rather than just voting for one. Ranked choice voting raises questions about one-person, one-vote, but that's only the beginning of the problems.”

— Paul Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation

“It turns out that Americans prefer elections where it is easy to vote, simple to count the votes, and easy to understand and verify the results. The Albuquerque City Council should abandon efforts to foist ranked choice voting onto local elections.”

— Paul Gessing, President, Rio Grande Foundation

What’s next

The Albuquerque City Council is expected to take a final vote on the ranked choice voting proposal at their April 6 meeting.

The takeaway

The debate over ranked choice voting in Albuquerque reflects broader concerns about electoral reforms that could introduce complexity and undermine voter confidence in the simplicity and transparency of the voting process. As other cities and states have seen, ranked choice voting remains a controversial issue with no clear consensus on its merits.