COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Lawmakers in Ohio are working to ban local governments within the state from using ranked choice voting.

Senate Bill 63 would prohibit any elections in Ohio from being conducted by ranked choice voting. Any local government found to be using ranked choice voting would have its state money withheld.

The ban on ranked choice voting would also apply to party primary elections.

Lawmakers in the Ohio Senate voted 27-5 on Wednesday to pass the bill, which would largely ban the use of ranked choice voting in the state.

What is ranked-choice voting?

Ranked choice voting is a method where voters rank the candidates on their ballots in order of preference.

If no candidate reaches a majority of votes, the last-place candidate is defeated, and those who had the defeated candidate as their first choice would then have their second-highest choice elevated in the next round of voting.

This process generally repeats until one candidate has received a majority of votes, or until the same number of candidates are remaining as there are available seats.

Ranked choice voting is sometimes referred to as “instant runoff voting,” which avoids making voters return to the polls to cast another ballot in races where the leading candidate only has a plurality of the vote, rather than the majority.

Ranked choice voting is used statewide in Maine and Alaska, plus in dozens of other cities across the country, according to FairVote, a nonprofit that works to “research and advance voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American.” No cities in Ohio currently use ranked choice voting.

Why some lawmakers are trying to ban ranked choice voting

Sen. Theresa Gavarone (R-Bowling Green) and Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) introduced the bipartisan bill in January.

“Ranked choice voting distorts election outcomes, which inherently leads to uncertainty in our results,” Gavarone said in a statement when the bill was introduced. “If this idea came to Ohio, it could, as it has in other states, delay election results, decrease voter turnout, and create confusion among voters, diluting their voices at the ballot box.”

According to FairVote, New York City’s first election with ranked choice voting had the city’s highest turnout in 30 years, but the full impact ranked choice has on voter turnout is still unknown.

The organization said it’s hard to compare elections when studying the effect ranked choice voting has on turnout since primary and runoff elections generally have lower turnout anyway, plus there are other factors such as competitive campaigns and media attention that are at play.

Ohio’s ranked choice voting ban would not apply to municipalities or chartered counties in accordance with a 1923 Ohio Supreme Court ruling.

Gavarone said that ranked choice voting would “undo two centuries of voters having the ability to cast their vote with one vote and one voice, and alter our elections to look similar to the way it’s done in New York City and San Francisco.”

DeMora called ranked choice voting “cumbersome, confusing, and unnecessary.”

Rank the Vote Ohio, an organization that is pushing for ranked choice voting in the state, said ranked choice voting expands voter choice, ensures the winning candidate has a majority of support, and promotes more diverse candidates.

“In our current system, many candidates are pressured to drop out, shamed as ‘spoilers,’ and excluded from public debates,” the organization said. “Ranked Choice Voting welcomes all candidates into the race — and you can’t win if you don’t run.”

The bill must now pass the House before it goes to Gov. Mike DeWine’s desk.