Those are all really good points – I wasn't necessarily focused on IRV – but, rather, the idea that there are many better options than the current single choice

Those are all really good points – I wasn't necessarily focused on IRV – but, rather, the idea that there are many better options than the current single choice system that would allow people to more freely express their preferences without fear that they'd be "throwing their vote away" or "letting someone else win" by voting they way they really wanted to. Thanks for the pointer to score-voting – I think I probably agree with your take on its superiority.