The resurgence of approval voting in the U.S. began in Fargo, North Dakota, on November 6, 2018.

While the concept of voting for multiple candidates has deep roots in the very origins of American democracy—the first three U.S. presidents were elected using a system similar to approval voting, where electors could vote for up to two candidates—the idea failed to gain traction in the U.S.'s burgeoning two-party political landscape. It was not until the 1970s and 80s that political scientists like Dr. Steven Brams and Dr. Peter Fishburn began to advocate for the use of approval voting in American elections. While they were successful in getting it adopted by organizations, associations, and colleges, approval voting failed to gain traction as city and state governments (and their political leaders) didn’t yet see a need to change how we voted.

Yet, it was the electoral landscape of Fargo, ND, in the 2010s that would set up the conditions for the modern comeback of approval voting. The city's nonpartisan elections were marred by rampant vote splitting, undermining the integrity of the electoral process. Consequently, commissioners often secured victory with minimal voter support, sometimes as low as 30%. This issue came to a head following a particularly contentious six-way election in 2015, where the winner received 22% of the vote. This prompted Fargo to convene a task force to explore alternatives.

The group met and debated, and approval voting was suggested by a citizen on the task force, Jed Limke. However, after many months it was clear that the government was not going to take Limke or the task force’s recommendations. So Limke decided to go directly to the public with his organization Reform Fargo. Reform Fargo started to collect signatures to bring approval voting to the city, and CES supported the effort for the fall 2018 ballot.

The culmination of these efforts arrived on November 6, 2018, as Fargo residents cast their votes on the adoption of approval voting. Months of tireless door-to-door canvassing and community organizing by Limke, Reform Fargo, and campaign leaders like Andrea Denault bore fruit as voters overwhelmingly embraced the proposal, with 64% voting in favor. With this historic decision, Fargo became the first city in the United States to reintroduce approval voting for government elections, signaling a potential paradigm shift in electoral practices nationwide.

In 2020, Fargo held its first elections using approval voting, a race to fill two city commissioner seats. After years of seeing winners receive 25% or less of the vote, that year’s winning candidates—John Strand and Arlette Preston—received votes on 44% and 42% of ballots respectively in a seven-way race. A follow-up poll by CES showed that Fargo voters appreciated the new system, with 71% saying that approval voting was easy and 62% saying that overall, they liked approval voting. Fargo continues to use approval voting to this day, without major issue, and with hope of expanding beyond the city.