About Ranked Choice Voting
How Ranked Choice Voting Works
Ranked Choice Voting gives voters more freedom, more expression, and more power. Instead of picking just one candidate, a voter has the option to rank their candidates in order of preference — 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on.
Check out this Video Explainer:
*This video was originally produced to educate New York City voters about their RCV system. RCV systems can give voters the option to rank more than five candidates.
Why is this helpful? For the first time ever, a voter now has the power of backup choices. This means that if their favorite (1st choice) cannot win the election, their vote instantly counts toward their next choice. This type of power helps voters succeed in two kinds of election scenarios:
As a voter, with Ranked Choice Voting, you can always vote for the candidate you truly love without the fear of “throwing your vote away”. Even if your favorite is not a front-runner, you have backup choices, so your vote is never wasted, and your voice is always heard.
How to Win Under Ranked Choice Voting
Ballots are counted in “instant runoff rounds” where contestants receiving the fewest top-choices are eliminated and their supporters’ ballots are then counted toward the next choice indicated on each.
This process “consolidates” the voting power of like-minded voters, no matter how many candidates are running, rather than seeing the strength of their votes diluted and divided between multiple similar candidates. It means no more “spoiler problem”, so more candidates with a variety of backgrounds or ideas can run without worrying about distorting the outcome of the election.
These rounds repeat until one candidate has the support of more than half of the voters. Because winning requires a broad majority of support, candidates need to earn their opponents’ supporters’ 2nd and 3rd choice votes on the ballot. This encourages them to find common ground and talk about the substance of issues, rather than mudslinging — which alienates voters.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is a simple but powerful solution that gives people a stronger voice and more choice when they vote.
Why Ranked Choice Voting
People are fed up with toxic politics and unresponsive, gridlocked government dominated by powerful special interests. Grassroots leaders across the country are organizing to solve the source of the problem — our flawed election system.
Our current “pick-one” plurality election system punishes voters with “wasting their vote” if they choose their actual favorite and don’t use their ballot to support a “front-runner” candidate or one from the two major parties. It lets unpopular politicians win by allowing candidates to be elected even when the majority of voters oppose them, and makes elections toxic by incentivizing candidates to beat down their opponents and exaggerate differences, missing opportunities to reinforce areas of agreement that unify the electorate and create consensus for getting important things done after the election.
QUICK FACTS
Every vote counts and you can always vote for your favorite knowing your vote will never be wasted.
Fresh candidates can run without fear of being treated like a “spoiler”.
New parties can form and share their ideas without fear of splitting votes from a similar major party.
The current system is fragile and vulnerable to manipulation and broken, inaccurate outcomes as soon as more than two candidates run. This is because of “vote splitting” and the “spoiler effect”. Two or more candidates or parties running on similar platforms penalize each other and divide their shared base of supporters, rather than reinforcing their mutual efforts. Finally, our current voting system limits participation by discouraging new candidates from running and new parties from forming.
Where Ranked Choice Voting is Used
See Table
RCV by the numbers: As of April 2025, RCV is reaching 52 American jurisdictions that are home to nearly 14 million voters. That includes 2 states, 3 counties, and 47 cities. Military and overseas voters cast RCV ballots in federal runoff elections in 6 states and 1 city.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can we really change how we vote?
Absolutely! Our methods are simple and time-tested: organize and educate regular voters so they can spread the word and take effective actions to achieve this common sense improvement to our elections.
To do this we offer these valuable resources:
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A proven playbook of strategies, tactics, and priorities to ensure success
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Coaching and consultation
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Pathways to funding
Experience has shown that this basic assistance we provide can enable a small but dedicated group to rapidly grow into a powerful statewide wave of change demanding to Rank the Vote.
What's wrong with our elections?
Our current “pick-one” plurality election system:
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Punishes voters with “wasting their vote” if they choose their actual favorite and don’t use their ballot to support a “front-runner” candidate or one from the two major parties.
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Let’s unpopular politicians win by allowing candidates to be elected even when the majority of voters oppose them.
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Makes elections toxic by incentivizing candidates to beat down their opponents and exaggerate differences, missing opportunities to reinforce areas of agreement that unify the electorate and create consensus for getting important things done after the election.
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Is fragile and vulnerable to manipulation and broken, inaccurate outcomes as soon as more than two candidates run. This is because of “vote splitting” and the “spoiler effect”. Two or more candidates or parties running on similar platforms penalize each other and divide their shared base of supporters, rather than reinforcing their mutual efforts.
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Limits participation by discouraging new candidates from running and new parties from forming.
The results are catastrophic:
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Denial of choice to voters, breeding disinterest and cynicism.
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Poisoning of political culture and magnification of partisan division.
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Gridlock around big problems rather than common purpose taking action.
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Erosion of competition, innovation, and problem solving in elections and government.
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Government of the powerful, not of the people.
How does RCV help?
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is the reform that is rescuing America. RCV offers transformative benefits:
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Every vote counts and you can always vote for your favorite knowing your vote will never be wasted.
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Fresh candidates can run without fear of being treated like a “spoiler”.
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New parties can form and share their unique and valuable perspectives without fear of undermining their own goals by splitting votes and diluting electoral power with the most similar major party.
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Strong independents can participate holding their heads high without dealing with unfair accusations of interference or irrelevance.
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Problem solving orientation where everyone running has a real reason to emphasize areas of common agreement as well as what makes them the best choice. Candidates tend to focus on issues and treat rivals with more respect.
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The will of the people prevails because the majority of voters always determines the winner from a full and robust set of choices.