In a United States presidential election year, extra attention is paid to election decision methods. If your class discusses Instant Runoff voting, also known as Ranked Choice voting, then it might be fun for you to let your students experience an instant runoff vote for themselves.
Yes, tallying an Instant Runoff vote is a bit of a chore.
But Chris Cartland has come to the rescue by programming an Instant Runoff script for Google Forms. I’ve tried it out and it was very easy to get it working. The hardest thing was waiting for the votes to come in so I could run the script and learn the victor!
Check out Chris’s video demonstration to see the script in action:
If you’d be interested in setting up a Google Forms Instant Runoff Ballot for your students, you’ll find the process pretty straightforward. I can help if any of the instructions cause a stall.
More information:
- American Mathematical Society essay on Voting and Elections
- Fairvote.org article on Benefits of Ranked Choice Voting
And remember, don’t let your voice go unheard. Take time to vote this November!
