Ohio Sen. Louis Blessing III introduces Senate Bill 395, proposing a “consensus voting” system to replace ranked choice voting, aiming to reduce polarization and increase voter participation.
Consensus Voting: Ohio Senator Proposes New “Consensus Voting” System
An Ohio Republican lawmaker has introduced new legislation that could significantly change how elections are conducted in the state, just weeks after ranked choice voting was officially banned.
State Sen. Louis Blessing III (R-Colerain Township) filed Senate Bill 395 on March 23, outlining a proposed “consensus voting” system. The model combines a nonpartisan top-three primary with a head-to-head general election format.
The proposal follows recent action by Gov. Mike DeWine, who signed Senate Bill 63 into law. That measure prohibits ranked choice voting across Ohio and prevents local governments from implementing it. It also allows the state to withhold funding from municipalities that attempt to adopt the system. The law is set to take effect in mid-June.
Despite supporting the ban, Blessing acknowledged in an April 7 statement that the issues ranked choice voting sought to address—such as political division and the role of money in elections still persist.
While endorsing Senate Bill 63, Blessing said his new proposal offers a better alternative. He described “consensus voting” as a system that retains the advantages of ranked choice voting while eliminating its drawbacks.
Under Senate Bill 395, all candidates would appear on a single primary ballot, regardless of political party. Voters could select up to three candidates, and the top three would move on to the general election.
In the general election, voters would participate in a series of one-on-one matchups between the three finalists. Each candidate would face the other two, and the candidate who wins both contests would be declared the overall winner. If each candidate wins one matchup, a tiebreaker would be determined based on the smallest margin of loss.
Blessing compared the system to a tournament-style format, similar to a March Madness bracket, where candidates compete head-to-head. He emphasized that, unlike ranked choice voting, the proposed system would not require multiple counting rounds or complex ballot processing, allowing results to be reported quickly.
The senator argues that this approach would encourage candidates to appeal to a broader range of voters, particularly independents, who make up a large portion of Ohio’s electorate. He also believes it could reduce the influence of heavily funded political campaigns that often focus on narrow partisan groups.
Senate Bill 395 has been referred to the Senate General Government Committee, where it is currently awaiting further review.
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