On Wednesday, Massachusetts moved one step closer to statewide ranked choice voting (RCV), as state Attorney General Maura Healey determined that an RCV ballot proposal passes constitutional muster.

This success indicates that the concerted efforts of tireless Massachusetts activists are bearing fruit, but groups like Voter Choice Massachusetts still have their work cut out for them: Supporters of the proposal must now gather over 80,000 signatures in three months to force legislators to put RCV on the statewide ballot in 2020.

The proposal—which would mandate the use of RCV in "primary and general elections for all Massachusetts statewide offices, state legislative offices, federal congressional offices, and certain other offices,”—would implement RCV in 2022 after the ostensible statewide referendum in 2020.

While RCV is already in use in Cambridge, MA, and is being considered in Easthampton, MA, and Lowell, MA, this proposal marks a drastic expansion of RCV in Massachusetts. In fact, if passed by voters and implemented smoothly in 2022, Massachusetts would become the second state—after Maine—to adopt statewide RCV.

There has been a groundswell of support for RCV in Massachusetts that includes, according to WBUR News, Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin. We are encouraged to see such grassroots support for RCV, and will be sure to keep you updated of further developments about RCV in Massachusetts.