What Is Ranked Choice Voting?
Ranked choice voting (RCV) — also called instant-runoff voting — is an electoral system that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing just one. Instead of marking a single name on a ballot, you might mark your first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.
If no candidate wins an outright majority (more than 50%) of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Voters who chose that candidate as their first pick then have their votes transferred to their second-choice candidate. This process continues until one candidate reaches a majority.
Where Is It Currently Used?
Ranked choice voting has been adopted at various levels of government across the United States and in several countries around the world. In the U.S., notable examples include:
- Alaska — Adopted RCV for statewide and federal elections beginning in 2022.
- Maine — Uses RCV for federal congressional and presidential elections.
- New York City — Implemented RCV for primary elections for local offices.
- Several dozen cities — Including Minneapolis, San Francisco, and Santa Fe, use it for municipal races.
Internationally, Australia has used a form of ranked voting for its House of Representatives for over a century, widely cited as a successful long-term model.
The Case For Ranked Choice Voting
Proponents argue RCV addresses several well-known problems with traditional plurality voting:
- Eliminates the "spoiler effect" — Voters can support a third-party candidate without feeling they're "wasting" their vote or helping their least-preferred candidate win.
- Encourages broader coalitions — Candidates have an incentive to appeal beyond their core base, since they need to earn second- and third-choice votes.
- Winners have broader support — The eventual winner must earn majority backing, not just a plurality in a fragmented field.
- Reduces negative campaigning — Attacking opponents can backfire if their supporters are the votes you need as second choices.
The Case Against
Critics raise valid concerns as well:
- Complexity — Some voters find multi-round counting confusing or feel uncertain about how their lower-ranked choices will be used.
- Delayed results — Counting multiple rounds takes longer, which can delay election night results.
- Ballot exhaustion — If a voter only ranks some candidates and all their choices are eliminated, their ballot no longer counts in later rounds.
- Resistance to change — Established parties sometimes oppose reforms that could benefit smaller or emerging political movements.
What the Research Suggests
Academic studies on jurisdictions that have adopted RCV generally find that voter satisfaction remains high and that the feared confusion is often limited in practice. Participation among lower-income and minority voters does not appear to decrease — and in some studies, engagement slightly increases. However, the research base is still growing as more jurisdictions gain experience with the system.
The Bottom Line
Ranked choice voting isn't a magic fix for political polarization, but it does offer a structurally different way to aggregate voter preferences. As more states and cities experiment with it, the evidence base will grow — and the debate over electoral reform will only intensify heading into future election cycles.