An increasingly popular way to organize elections, one that promises to make smaller parties more competitive.
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A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. First-preference votes cast for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots. A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority.
How ranked-choice voting works
1 - Voters rank the candidates for a given office by preference on their ballots.
2 - If a candidate wins an outright majority of first-preference votes (i.e., 50 percent plus one), he or she will be declared the winner.
3 - If, on the other hand, no candidates win an outright majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated.
4 - All first-preference votes for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots.
5 - A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won an outright majority of the adjusted voters.
6 - The process is repeated until a candidate wins a majority of votes cast.
