As advocates for election reform in other states, we closely followed Maine’s citizen-initiated and approved ranked choice voting (RCV) law. We’re writing to offer policymakers and citizens some insights into our experiences with implementing RCV and our observations on its impact.

Maine is the first state to adopt RCV for state and federal elections, but it’s not wading into uncharted territory. RCV has been used for years by U.S. political parties to nominate high officeholders and by voters in major U.S. cities, including Minneapolis to elect its mayor.

Despite successful implementation of RCV across the U.S., opponents have consistently argued that it is too complex for election administrators, too confusing for voters, and, a common attack, that it is unconstitutional.

You’ve heard it in Maine. We’ve heard it in our communities. However, predictions that RCV will lead to chaos and mischief are false. Every time that RCV has been challenged, courts have upheld it as fully constitutional, dating back to a 1941 ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota

Since 2009, more than 215,000 ranked choice ballots have been cast in 54 city races in the Twin Cities.

In both cities the transition to RCV has been smooth and it has led to higher turnout. According to voter surveys, RCV is understood, liked, and preferred over the old voting system. Among the many benefits cited by voters is how RCV reduces the rancor of elections by encouraging candidate to reach beyond their base and appeal more broadly for support.

When opponents, who lost at the ballot box, challenged RCV in our state, the Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously ruled that it was constitutional.

The success of RCV in the Twin Cities has exceeded the expectations of local election officials. Joe Mansky, St. Paul’s chief administrator, called the 2015 RCV election, “The smoothest election I’ve seen in my 14 years administering St. Paul elections.” Casey Carl, Minneapolis’ chief election official said, “I’m proud of the work we’ve done in administering RCV with efficiency, transparency and trust.”

In St. Paul and in Minneapolis, voting machines are used to scan and count ballots at hundreds of precincts, just as they are in Maine. These upgraded voting machines can read and scan ranked choice ballots.

Precinct level results are then submitted for tabulation where votes are counted in rounds in which last-place candidates lose until one candidate wins with a majority in the final round of tabulation. This process mirrors the one that has been proposed in Maine. In fact, the ESS DS-200 tabulator used in Minneapolis is the same one used in Maine today to scan ballots cast by 80 percent of Maine voters.

With RCV the counting process is fully transparent. Round-by-round results of all ballot rankings are publicly displayed in user-friendly formats. You can actually download results as an Excel spreadsheet and view the same data in the same format as election administrators do. It’s not rocket science.

Bay Area, California

RCV has been used in the Bay Area for 13 years to elect winners more broadly. The electorate has embraced this voting reform. In the most recent competitive election for San Francisco city supervisor, 78 percent of voters ranked at least two choices and voter turnout exceeded 80 percent.

Chris Jerdonek, president of the San Francisco Elections Commission has said that, “Ranking candidates has become routine in San Francisco. The ballot data show that voters use their rankings a very high percentage of the time, especially in races where it really matters.”

Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro also use RCV. The first time that RCV was used in Oakland for its mayoral election, 91 percent of voters ranked at least two candidates.

Portland, Maine and Beyond

Voters in Portland, Maine adopted RCV in 2010. Ninety-four percent of Portland voters have reported that ranking candidates was “easy.” Eighty-eight of voters ranked at least two candidates in the last mayoral election.

RCV was first used in a statewide election in North Carolina in 2010. Elections administrators had only four months to implement the new system, which it did successfully. The states of Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Louisiana use RCV to enfranchise overseas voters, including Louisiana since 1993.

As demonstrated in these places, and elsewhere, RCV has been successfully implemented and used in elections for decades. We’ve seen it, used it, like it, and we’re confident that you will like having more voice and more choice in elections, too.

Jeanne Massey is the executive director of FairVote Minnesota, which led ballot campaigns to win RCV in Minneapolis and St. Paul.

John E. Palmer is a businessman and election reform advocate originally from Yarmouth, Maine, who now lives and votes in RCV elections in San Francisco.