COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed legislation Tuesday banning ranked-choice voting across the state, effectively ending an election reform that advocates say could give voters more power and reduce the toxic partisanship that has come to define modern campaigns.
Senate Bill 63, sponsored by State Senator Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and State Senator William DeMora (D-Columbus), passed the Ohio Senate 27-5 before clearing the House and landing on the governor’s desk. The bill not only prohibits ranked choice voting in any Ohio election — it punishes any city or county that tries to implement it anyway by cutting off their state funding.
What is ranked choice voting?
Under Ohio’s current system, a candidate simply needs more votes than anyone else to win — even if that means winning with 34% of the vote while 66% of voters preferred someone else. Ranked choice voting changes that math.
Instead of picking just one candidate, voters rank their choices in order of preference — first, second, third, and so on. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes outright, they win immediately. If nobody hits that threshold, the last-place candidate is eliminated, and their voters’ ballots are automatically reassigned to whoever those voters ranked second. The process repeats until one candidate achieves a true majority.
The system is already in use in more than 50 jurisdictions across the country, including Maine and Alaska, which adopted it for state and federal elections in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Ohio itself has a history with the concept — Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Hamilton, and Ashtabula all used a version of it for city council elections during various periods of the 20th century before eventually abandoning it.
What the law actually does
The new law bars ranked choice voting in every Ohio election. The Ohio Supreme Court had previously ruled that municipalities and chartered counties retain the right under home rule provisions in the Ohio Constitution to run their own elections as they see fit — and the bill technically preserves that right. But it simultaneously strips any local government that exercises it of its Local Government Fund distributions, the monthly state payments that help cities and counties fund basic operations, public safety, and essential services. That money doesn’t come back even if the local government later reverses course — and every dollar withheld flows directly into Ohio’s general revenue fund.
Critics push back
Opponents of the ban argue that Ohio is moving in the wrong direction at a time when voter frustration with the two-party system is at historic highs.
Ranked Choice Voting Ohio, an advocacy group that has been pushing to bring the reform to the state, argues the current plurality system is a root cause of the dysfunction voters say they’re tired of. The group contends that ranked choice voting would force candidates to campaign more broadly and positively — because attacking opponents can cost a candidate crucial second and third-choice support — and would allow voters to support third-party or independent candidates without feeling like they’re throwing their vote away.
Critics of the ban also take issue with the financial penalty mechanism, calling it a heavy-handed use of state power to override local decision-making. The bill essentially uses the threat of defunding local governments to enforce a statewide preference — a move that sits uneasily alongside conservative principles of local control and home rule that Ohio Republicans have historically championed.
Some election law observers have noted the irony of a bipartisan bill — co-sponsored by a Democrat — being used to eliminate a reform that its advocates say would actually weaken the stranglehold the two major parties have over Ohio elections.
Denise Riley, Executive Director of Rank The Vote Ohio, reached out to the Guardian and issued the following statement:
We at Rank The Vote Ohio are deeply disappointed that Governor DeWine signed SB63 into law today. SB63 prohibits municipalities from implementing Ranked Choice Voting and allows the state to withhold all funding from municipalities that choose to exercise their local authority. This decision undermines the principle of local self-governance and conflicts with the home rule provisions outlined in the Ohio Constitution.
Regardless of one’s position on Ranked Choice Voting, SB63 sets a dangerous precedent by allowing the state to override municipal authority and withhold all funding. Prior to this bill, infringements on home rule authority were limited to the specific area legislated. This precedent not only impacts those seeking better representation, a stronger voice in their government, and more choice on the ballot, but also threatens the future autonomy of all 931 municipalities across Ohio.
It is also particularly troubling that much of the testimony in support of this legislation came from out-of-state organizations rather than Ohio residents. Decisions that affect Ohio communities should be driven by the voices of the people who live and vote here, making it all the more important that Ohioans continue to advocate for fair and representative elections in their own communities.
Rank The Vote Ohio will continue working with charter municipalities to advance Ranked Choice Voting wherever it remains permitted. Our long-term goal remains statewide implementation of Ranked Choice Voting in Ohio, and we will actively work toward that objective by growing public understanding and support across the state.
For now, the door is closed on election reform in Ohio. Whether a future legislature or a citizen ballot initiative could reopen it remains an open question.
(Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include a statement from Rank The Vote Ohio.)