[bhupy]

But RCV works just fine in places like Maine (statewide), Oregon, Minnesota, Colorado, Michigan, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Maryland (select localities). It works just fine in Australia (nationwide), along with several other nations.

I live (and voted) in NYC, and while this entire debacle is a comical embarrassment, I'm not at all convinced that any of this can bet attributed to ranked choice voting.

On the point of perceived fairness, the most recent poll (https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2021/06/28/poll-finds-new-yorke...) found that 95%(!!) of respondents found the ballot simple to complete, and 77% want to use RCV again. Granted, this poll was administered by organizations which lobbied for RCV in the first place, but I have a hard time believing that the margin of error could be in excess of 45%. It may very well be that a contingent of non-college graduate voters in NYC perceive RCV the way you describe, but they're decidedly in the minority — at least in NYC.