How Does Ranked-Choice Voting Work? A Simple Guide

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is an electoral system where voters rank candidates in order of preference on their ballots instead of choosing just one. If no candidate wins an outright majority of first-preference votes, an instant-runoff process begins where the lowest-ranking candidates are eliminated and their votes are redistributed until one candidate secures a majority.

This voting method is gaining significant traction across the United States. While traditional elections rely on a “plurality” system—where the candidate with the most votes wins, even if they fail to secure a majority—ranked-choice voting fundamentally changes how candidates run campaigns and how voters express their preferences. Because understanding how elections work is critical in a modern democracy, keeping an eye on live US primary and general election polls is highly recommended for any political observer seeking to see how these rules alter candidate strategy.

Here is a comprehensive, step-by-step breakdown of how ranked-choice voting works, its benefits and drawbacks, and where it is currently used.

The Mechanics of Ranked-Choice Voting #

To understand ranked-choice voting, it helps to look first at the ballot itself, and then at how election officials tabulate the results.

1. Marking the Ballot #

On a standard ranked-choice ballot, candidates are listed in rows, and preferences (1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc.) are listed in columns.

  • Voters fill in the bubble for their favorite candidate in the “1st Choice” column.
  • They can then select their backup candidate in the “2nd Choice” column, their third favorite in the “3rd Choice” column, and so on.
  • Voters are not required to rank every candidate. If they only prefer one candidate, they can choose to rank only that candidate and leave the rest blank.

2. The First Round of Counting #

Once the polls close, election officials count all the first-choice votes.

  • If a candidate receives a majority (more than 50%) of the first-choice votes, the election is over, and that candidate is declared the winner.
  • If no candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, the election proceeds to the instant-runoff phase.

3. The Elimination and Redistribution Process #

If no candidate hits the 50% threshold, the tabulation software automatically triggers the next round:

  • The candidate who received the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated from the race.
  • For the voters who chose the eliminated candidate as their number-one pick, their votes are not wasted. Instead, their votes are transferred to whoever they listed as their second choice.
  • The votes are retallied. If a candidate now has a majority of the active votes, they win.
  • If there is still no majority winner, the process repeats: the next lowest-ranking candidate is eliminated, and their supporters’ votes are redistributed to their next-ranked candidates. This loop continues until one candidate crosses the 50% threshold.

A Step-by-Step Scenario #

Let’s walk through a concrete example. Imagine a mayoral election with 10,000 total voters and four candidates: David (Republican), Marcus (Moderate Democrat), Sarah (Progressive), and Elena (Independent).

To win outright in the first round, a candidate needs more than 50% of the vote—meaning at least 5,001 votes.

Round 1: Initial Counts #

When the first-choice votes are tallied, the results are:

  • David: 3,500 votes (35%)
  • Marcus: 3,000 votes (30%)
  • Sarah: 2,500 votes (25%)
  • Elena: 1,000 votes (10%)

No candidate has achieved the required 5,001 votes to win. Under a traditional plurality system, David would win immediately with 35% of the vote, despite 65% of the electorate voting for someone else. Under ranked-choice voting, the race continues.

Round 2: Eliminating Elena #

Because Elena has the fewest votes (1,000), she is eliminated. Election officials look at the ballots of the 1,000 people who voted for Elena to see their second-choice preferences:

  • 600 of Elena’s voters chose Sarah as their second choice.
  • 300 of Elena’s voters chose Marcus as their second choice.
  • 100 of Elena’s voters chose not to rank anyone else (these are called “exhausted ballots”).

Now, the remaining 9,900 active ballots are retallied:

  • David: 3,500 votes (35.4% of active ballots)
  • Marcus: 3,300 votes (33.3% of active ballots)
  • Sarah: 3,100 votes (31.3% of active ballots)
  • Exhausted Ballots: 100

Still, no candidate has reached a majority of the active ballots (which is now 4,951 votes).

Round 3: Eliminating Sarah #

Sarah now has the lowest vote total (3,100 votes) and is eliminated. Officials look at those 3,100 ballots to see who is ranked next. Note that this group includes Sarah’s original 2,500 supporters plus the 600 voters who transferred from Elena.

  • Of Sarah’s original 2,500 voters: 2,000 ranked Marcus next, 100 ranked David next, and 400 opted not to rank anyone else.
  • Of the 600 voters who transferred from Elena: 500 ranked Marcus next, and 100 opted not to rank anyone else.
  • This results in 2,500 votes transferring to Marcus, 100 votes transferring to David, and 500 ballots becoming exhausted.

The final tally of active ballots is:

  • Marcus: 3,300 + 2,500 = 5,800 votes (61.7% of active ballots)
  • David: 3,500 + 100 = 3,600 votes (38.3% of active ballots)
  • Exhausted Ballots: 600 (cumulative)

Marcus is declared the winner. Even though David had the most first-choice votes in Round 1, Marcus demonstrated broader consensus appeal among the overall electorate once voters’ backup preferences were factored in. To see how these structural changes affect political behavior and candidate performance over time, voters can track real-time polling data across local and national races.

Why Do Cities and States Use Ranked-Choice Voting? #

Proponents and critics of ranked-choice voting point to very different aspects of how the system performs in practice.

The Advantages of Ranked-Choice Voting #

  • No “Spoiler” Effect: In plurality voting, voters often feel pressured to vote strategically. They might avoid voting for a third-party or independent candidate they love out of fear that doing so will “spoil” the election and help their least favorite major-party candidate win. RCV eliminates this; voters can safely rank their true favorite first, knowing their backup vote will count if their favorite fails to gain traction.
  • Encourages Positive Campaigning: In standard elections, candidates often attack their opponents to depress turnout or win over undecided voters. In RCV, candidates must appeal to their opponents’ supporters for their second-choice votes. This incentivizes candidates to run more civil, issue-focused campaigns rather than relying on toxic negative advertising.
  • Ensures Majority Support: Winners of RCV elections enter office knowing they have the backing of a majority of active voters. This can bolster their mandate to govern.
  • Saves Taxpayer Money: In jurisdictions that require a majority to win, RCV serves as an “instant runoff.” This eliminates the need to host a separate, physical runoff election weeks later, which typically suffers from low voter turnout and costs taxpayers millions of dollars to administer.

The Drawbacks and Criticisms of Ranked-Choice Voting #

  • Increased Complexity: RCV ballots are inherently more complicated to fill out than “choose-one” ballots. Critics argue this can confuse voters, leading to mistakes that disqualify ballots (such as ranking the same candidate multiple times or ranking multiple candidates in the same slot).
  • Delayed Results: Because election officials must wait for all ballots to arrive—including mail-in, military, and overseas ballots—before the elimination rounds can be processed by the centralized software, RCV results can take days or even weeks to finalize in close races. This delay can sometimes degrade public trust in the speed of the election process.
  • Ballot Exhaustion: If a voter only ranks one candidate, and that candidate is eliminated early, their ballot is marked “exhausted” and does not contribute to the final head-to-head tally. Critics argue this effectively disenfranchises voters who choose not to, or do not understand how to, rank alternative options.

Where Is Ranked-Choice Voting Used in the US? #

The use of ranked-choice voting has expanded steadily over the past decade. It is utilized at different levels of government:

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              RANKED-CHOICE VOTING IN THE U.S.                 │
├───────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────┤
│ Statewide Systems             │ Maine, Alaska                 │
├───────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ Major Municipalities          │ NYC, San Francisco, Oakland,  │
│                               │ Minneapolis, Santa Fe         │
├───────────────────────────────┼───────────────────────────────┤
│ Military/Overseas Runoffs     │ Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,  │
│                               │ Mississippi, South Carolina   │
└───────────────────────────────┴───────────────────────────────┘
  • Maine: In 2016, Maine became the first state to approve RCV via a citizen-led ballot initiative. It is used in state and federal primary elections, as well as general elections for Congress and the presidency.
  • Alaska: In 2020, Alaska voters approved a system combining a nonpartisan, top-four open primary with a ranked-choice voting general election.
  • Municipalities: Dozens of cities across the country use RCV for local races. Notably, New York City implemented RCV for its primary elections starting in 2021.
  • Military and Overseas Ballots: Several southern states (including Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) use ranked-choice ballots specifically for military and overseas voters. This ensures their votes can be counted in any subsequent runoff elections without needing to mail a second ballot back in a short timeframe.

If you want to see how these shifting electoral rules and voter coalitions translate into broader national trends, you can explore national approval ratings and prediction markets to get a comprehensive view of the political landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions #

Do I have to rank every candidate on my ballot? #

No. You are entirely free to rank as many or as few candidates as you want. If you only want to vote for one candidate, you can bubble in their name as your first choice and leave the rest of the ballot blank. However, if your single choice is eliminated in an early round, your ballot will become “exhausted” and will not count toward the final head-to-head match-up.

Does ranked-choice voting favor one political party over another? #

Statistically, no. RCV is a neutral mechanism. While some critics argue it benefits progressive or moderate candidates, outcomes depend entirely on the specific candidates running and the political makeup of the electorate. For example, in Alaska, RCV has resulted in victories for both moderate Democrats (like Representative Mary Peltola) and conservative Republicans (like Governor Mike Dunleavy).

Can a candidate who got the most first-choice votes lose? #

Yes, this is possible. If the candidate with the most first-choice votes fails to secure an outright majority (50% + 1) in the first round, they can be overtaken if the supporters of the eliminated candidates overwhelmingly favor a competitor as their second choice. This occurs when the leading candidate has a strong, passionate base but lacks broad appeal across the rest of the electorate.

Does RCV take longer to count? #

The actual mathematical calculations of RCV take only a few seconds once the data is entered into the tabulation software. However, because the software cannot run the elimination rounds until every single ballot has been received and scanned, the final determination of the winner can be delayed if there are outstanding mail-in, military, or provisional ballots that need to be verified.