Ranked choice voting how does it work

In the San Francisco mayoral election of , for instance, there were , votes counted in the first round; in the final and decisive ninth round of counting, only , votes remained. This was a drop-off of 21, votes, or 8. Supporters argue that the problem was that, in many of these elections, voters only had three ranking slots, so ballots were exhausted more easily as all three were eliminated.

But adding more ranking slots means foisting more complexity on voters. Some real voting systems nerds have a different critique. Ranked choice, in contrast, might incentivize a sort of inoffensive lowest common denominator campaign, rather than a bold one.

Though you do have to stand out to some extent to avoid getting eliminated. Party endorsements and campaigns can also help simplify choices for voters who trust the party. And runoffs have their virtues — they concentrate the mind, bringing clarity to a crowded field, by offering a binary choice, rather than tasking voters with researching and forming opinions on multiple little-known candidates, as they will in a ranked-choice election.

Voters adapted — and so did the parties. The task of negative campaigning may have been effectively outsourced to independent groups rather than the candidates themselves. But Richie told me that moving to a proportional system was too heavy a lift for the time being.

It is, we believe, an important step toward a conversation about proportional voting. This would allow for proportional ranked-choice voting — where seats are split up according to how the vote breaks down. Our mission has never been more vital than it is in this moment: to empower through understanding.

Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all.

Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Are they right? Getty Images.

Reddit Pocket Flipboard Email. Elections inspector Brian Linden left explains ranked-choice voting to Elena Batyuk before she casts her ballot in the New York City mayoral primary election on June What is ranked-choice voting, and how does it work? An example graphic from the New York City government showing a ranked-choice ballot. New York City The counting: The real action happens when the votes are counted.

New York City will join Maine in using instant-runoff voting. If ranked-choice voting was adopted nationwide, it would fundamentally change how U. Take the last presidential election , for example. Under the current system, in each of those states, the candidate with the most votes was declared victorious. If the U. It can lead to vote-splitting among candidates with similar positions, resulting in a candidate who is less popular overall being elected, experts say.

The most notorious example of this is the presidential election , when nearly 3 million mostly left-leaning voters cast their ballots for third-party candidate Ralph Nader. If ranked-choice voting had been in place at the time, Democrat Al Gore may have prevailed in the key state of Florida, where neither Gore nor Republican George W.

Bush won a majority of the vote, says Don Saari, author of Decisions and Elections. Because it helps eliminate vote-splitting, a ranked-choice voting system can have the effect of encouraging more third-party and centrist candidates, advocates say. Trump, of course, still won the election, though he lost the popular vote to Clinton. Again, the election offers a good hypothetical example. If a ranked-choice voting system had been in place in Michigan, then Clinton, not Trump, may have won that state.

Because neither candidate received a majority of the Michigan vote, ranked-choice voting would have come into play. And if we can assume that most Stein voters would have chosen Clinton as their second choice, the former Secretary of State would have won, according to Saari. Trump won Michigan by 10,; Stein received more than 51, votes. Do not skip columns. You may rank as few candidates as you would like. You may rank as many candidates as are allowed. EXAMPLE 2: Overvoted 2nd ranking where 1st choice is marked correctly, two candidates are marked for 2nd choice, 3rd choice is not marked.

Which shirt to buy? Typically, we navigate the choices, form preferences, and make a decision. Ranked-choice voting allows you to show the strength of your preference amongst a set of choices. You order your choices from most preferred to least and cast your vote. With this approach, your vote has a higher chance of influencing the outcome. Your vote is better represented. Your voice is better heard. Every election starts with its voters. In an election using ranked-choice, voters are able to state their preferences beyond the typical "pick one from the list" on a ranked-choice ballot.

This ballot can take a variety of forms. The critical component is that it allows for sequential candidate preferences to be declared. Second just below and so on. It's great for introducing the concept of ranking candidates.