Giving voters more meaningful choices
Top 5 Voting is an early-stage nonprofit project exploring electoral systems that give voters a wider field of viable candidates and encourage candidates to earn broad public support.
The exact model still needs to be defined openly. That includes how candidates enter and advance from the first round, how the final five appear on the general-election ballot, how voters express their preferences, and how the winner is counted. The project will compare available approaches rather than assume that one design choice solves every problem.
What the project will study
Top 5 Voting will examine voter choice, participation, competition, representation, accessibility, election administration, public understanding, legal pathways, costs, and unintended consequences. It will learn from existing election reforms and from the people who run and participate in elections.
The project is intended to be nonpartisan. Any proposal should be judged by whether it gives voters a stronger voice, produces legitimate and understandable outcomes, and helps representative government respond to the public—not by which party or candidate might benefit in a particular election.
Current status
Early concept development. The next step is to define the proposed system precisely, study comparable reforms, identify the most promising jurisdictions and legal pathways, and invite review from election administrators, voting-rights advocates, reform organizations, researchers, and voters.
How to help
If you have experience with election law, voting systems, election administration, civic organizing, public education, accessibility, or political science, contact Lifeco and mention Top 5 Voting.