South Dakota scored a major win for election integrity on Tuesday by becoming the first state in 2023 to ban ranked-choice voting (RCV) in elections, with Idaho potentially following suit.

On Tuesday, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signed SB 55, which stipulates that the state’s board of elections “may not authorize” and political subdivisions “may not adopt or enforce” in any manner “a rule, resolution, charter provision, or ordinance establishing” a ranked-choice voting system. The bill received overwhelming support in the state’s House of Representatives (63-5) and Senate (31-4).

[RCV is a terrible system that only adds opacity and complication to elections, two qualities that sap confidence in their outcomes. Elections should be run with paper ballots designed for rapid machine counting but also allowing for hand counting when necessary, with results as soon as possible after polls close. Anything that deviates from that outcome is not an improvement but an impediment to public confidence in elections. Period. — Ed]