Inside the 2027-2028 NFHS Policy Topic Voting Process
NDCA Voting Process at the Topic Selection Meeting
This year, the NDCA will use Ranked Choice Voting to streamline and strengthen the fairness of the NDCA's vote in the topic selection process across all voting rounds. With 11 proposed topics on the ballot, RCV allows each voter to rank the options in order of preference—from your top choice (1) to your least preferred (11).
Why Ranked Choice Voting? RCV ensures that every vote counts—even if your top choice is eliminated in early rounds. Instead of asking you to vote again after each elimination, we’ll use your ranked ballot to automatically retabulate your next-best preferences. This eliminates the need to fill out a new ballot after each round and reflects a more complete picture of community priorities.
How It Works
You’ll rank all 12 topics from 1 (most preferred) to 11 (least preferred) on a single ballot.
After collecting all ballots, we’ll conduct the first round of counting. If no topic has a majority of first-choice votes, the topic with the fewest is eliminated. We will post NDCA's ballot as well as the members who voted on tomorrow morning's post.
For voters who selected the eliminated topic as their top choice, their vote will automatically transfer to their next highest-ranked topic still in the running.
This process continues until a topic secures majority support—or until we reach the required number of finalists.
In short: You submit one ballot, and your full set of preferences is used to determine the outcomes in every round, without the need to vote again in our system.
Resources for an Informed Ballot
As you rank the 11 proposed topics, we encourage you to engage deeply with the available materials and community conversations. Each topic paper was authored by members of our community and reflects countless hours of research, discussion, and refinement. These papers provide crucial context about the scope, significance, and educational value of each proposal.
In addition, the subcommittee discussions and NDCA blog updates offer insight into the deliberation process—highlighting strengths, concerns, and points of clarification raised by other coaches and delegates.
Before casting your ranked ballot, we recommend:
Reviewing summaries and updates from the Debatability Roundtables, Marshall Subcommittees and Saturday Wording Session.
Reflecting on how each topic supports student learning, equity, and competitive balance
Who Can Vote?
Lifetime Institutional Members may designate up to three voting representatives per high school. The school’s director of record must notify the NDCA of these representatives in advance.
Lifetime Individual Members are eligible to vote if they are currently affiliated with a high school. However, those who became lifetime members prior to 2014 retain voting privileges even if they are no longer affiliated with a school.
Annual School Memberships (2025–2026 and 2026-2027) entitle one vote per school.
If you submit multiple ballots, only your most recent submission will be counted; all previous entries will be deleted.
How NDCA Voted At the Meeting
There are 27 voting delegates at the meeting. We will post full results after each vote.
With 11 papers, four votes will occur. After each vote, there will be 10 minutes of cuacus time.
After the first vote, Top 10 ballots will move on.
After the second vote, Top 7 ballots will move on.
After the third vote, Top 6 ballots will move on
After the fourth vote, the Final 5 will be announced
Round 1 — Ballot Cast
NDCA will cast a ballot for Military Presence, Nuclear Arms Control, Presidential War Powers, China, and Latin America.
Western Balkans does not advance.
Round 2 — Ballot Cast
NDCA will cast a ballot for Military Presence, Nuclear Arms Control, Presidential War Powers, China, and Latin America.
South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Africa do not advance.
Round 3 — Ballot Cast
NDCA will cast a ballot for Military Presence, Nuclear Arms Control, Presidential War Powers, China, and Latin America.
South America does not advance.
Round 4 - Ballot Cast
NDCA will cast a ballot for Military Presence, China, Nuclear Arms Control, Presidential War Powers, and Latin America.
Presidential War Powers do not advance.
| Topic Area | Ballot 1 Vote | Ballot 2 Vote | Ballot 3 Vote | Ballot 4 Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military Presence | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| China | 17 | 17 | 20 | 22 |
| Nuclear Arms Control | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Presidential War Powers | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 |
| Latin America | 15 | 15 | 17 | 20 |
| North Africa | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| South America | 5 | 7 | 9 | |
| West Africa | 5 | 5 | ||
| South Asia | 3 | 3 | ||
| Southeast Asia | 2 | 2 | ||
| Western Balkans | 2 |
Final Topics for 2027-2028
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its negotiations towards an agreement with the People's Republic of China in one or more of the following areas: artificial intelligence governance, climate change, global health security, outer space.
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic and/or diplomatic engagement with one or more of the following: Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Venezuela.
Resolved: The United States federal government should signficantly reduce its military presence in Gulf Arab States and/or Northeast Asia.
Resolved: The United States federal government should substantially increase its economic and/or diplomatic engagement with one or more of the following: Arab Republic of Egypt, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Republic of South Sudan, Republic of Sudan, State of Libya.
Resolved: The United States federal government should negotiate and implement binding international nuclear arms control.
Here was the complete voting delegate vote totals each round.
| Topic Area | Ballot 1 Vote | Ballot 2 Vote | Ballot 3 Vote | Ballot 4 Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military Presence | 23 | 23 | 24 | 27 |
| Nuclear Arms Control | 22 | 22 | 23 | 26 |
| China | 19 | 19 | 24 | 25 |
| Latin America | 18 | 18 | 20 | 23 |
| North Africa | 10 | 11 | 18 | 21 |
| Presidential War Powers | 13 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
| South America | 12 | 12 | 13 | |
| West Africa | 9 | 9 | ||
| South Asia | 4 | 4 | ||
| Southeast Asia | 3 | 4 | ||
| Western Balkans | 2 |