Ranked-Choice Voting Explained: How It Works and Where It Is Used

Under traditional plurality voting (first-past-the-post), the candidate with the most votes wins — even if that is 35% in a crowded field. A spoiler candidate who takes 10% of the vote from a similar-leaning candidate can hand the election to an opponent who represents the minority preference. Ranked-choice voting is designed to eliminate this dynamic.

Step 1 — Ranking: Voters rank as many candidates as they choose. On a ballot with five candidates, a voter might rank all five, or just their top two. There is no penalty for not ranking all candidates.

Step 2 — First-choice count: All first-choice votes are tallied. If any candidate has more than 50% of first-choice votes, that candidate wins immediately. In most competitive races, no candidate crosses 50% on first choices.

Step 3 — Elimination: The candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Any ballots that ranked that candidate first are transferred to those ballots' second choice. The totals are recounted.

Step 4 — Repeat: The elimination and transfer process continues until one candidate holds more than 50% of the remaining active ballots. A ballot "exhausts" if all ranked candidates have been eliminated — that ballot no longer counts in subsequent rounds.

Instant runoff vs. traditional runoff: In states like Georgia and Louisiana, a separate runoff election is held if no candidate reaches 50% in the general. This requires voters to turn out twice. RCV achieves the same mathematical result — a majority winner — in a single election day.

Alaska adopted RCV via Ballot Measure 2 in November 2020 (passed 50.6%-49.4%). It uses a modified system: a top-four open primary sends the top four vote-getters — regardless of party — to a ranked-choice general election. Alaska uses RCV for all federal elections (House, Senate, president) and state offices. The system was used for the first time in a national context in the August 2022 special House majority.

Maine adopted RCV for federal primaries and general elections in 2016 (Ballot Question 5, passed 52%-48%). A legal complication prevents RCV from applying to gubernatorial general elections under the Maine constitution, but it applies to US Senate, US House, and presidential elections. Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02) won in 2018 under RCV after trailing on first-choice votes — the first federal candidate elected via RCV.

New York City adopted RCV for all primary elections in 2019. The 2021 Democratic mayoral primary — with 13 candidates — produced a weeks-long count as ballots were processed across multiple rounds. Eric Adams ultimately won. NYC's experience highlighted both the democratic advantages of RCV (a more nuanced primary) and the operational challenges (delayed final results, voter confusion).

Other jurisdictions using RCV include San Francisco (local elections since 2004), Minneapolis (since 2009), Cambridge, MA (since 1941), and over 50 other cities and counties. Virginia uses RCV for some party conventions. Hawaii passed an RCV bill for federal primary elections in 2021.

The case for RCV:

Eliminates the spoiler effect. Under plurality voting, a third candidate who ideologically overlaps with a major-party candidate can split the vote and hand victory to the opponent both voters prefer least (the "spoiler" dynamic that affected the 2000 presidential race with Ralph Nader). Under RCV, voters can rank a third-party candidate first without wasting their vote if that candidate is eliminated.

Rewards broader appeal. Candidates who are broadly acceptable to more voters — including as second and third choices — are advantaged over candidates who have an intensely loyal base but are deeply unpopular with the rest of the electorate. This can shift incentives toward less polarizing candidates.

Majority winners. The winner must reach 50% of active ballots. This is a stronger mandate than winning with 36% in a four-way race.

The case against RCV:

Complexity and ballot exhaustion. Voters who do not understand the system may rank only one candidate, effectively surrendering their vote in later rounds. Studies of Australian RCV elections (Australia has used preferential voting since 1918) show significant rates of "donkey voting" — ranking in top-to-bottom order — suggesting some voters find the system confusing.

Delayed results. Counting multiple rounds takes longer than a single plurality count. NYC's 2021 mayoral primary took weeks to finalize. This increases uncertainty and can fuel conspiracy theories about election integrity during the counting period.

Non-monotonicity. In rare mathematical cases, ranking a candidate higher can actually cause them to lose — a counterintuitive property called non-monotonicity. Critics argue this undermines the system's legitimacy, though such cases are uncommon in real elections.

Benefits incumbents or more moderate candidates. Some progressives argue that RCV in Democratic primaries benefits establishment candidates who accumulate second-choice votes from more moderate voters — potentially disadvantaging candidates with strong but narrower bases of support.

The August 2022 Alaska at-large House special election was the first significant test of RCV in a federal general election and produced a result that surprised many observers.

The candidates: Democrat Mary Peltola (former state legislator), Republican Sarah Palin (former governor and 2008 VP nominee), and Republican Nick Begich III (from a prominent Democratic Alaska family, running as a moderate Republican).

First-choice results: Peltola led with 40.2% of first-choice votes. Palin had 31.3%. Begich had 28.5%. No candidate was close to 50%.

The instant runoff: Begich, finishing third, was eliminated. His ballots were transferred according to second-choice rankings. Of Begich voters who had ranked a second choice: approximately 50% chose Palin as their second pick, and 29% chose Peltola. About 21% of Begich ballots were "exhausted" (no second choice ranked).

Final result: Peltola won 51.5% to Palin's 48.5% after transfer. Peltola became the first Alaska Native elected to Congress and the first Democrat to hold Alaska's at-large seat since Nick Begich Sr. disappeared in 1972.

The analysis: Under plurality voting, a two-candidate race between Palin and Peltola would likely have been very close. The two-Republican field split the conservative vote enough that Peltola led on first choices — and enough Begich voters preferred Peltola as a second choice to give her the majority. Palin and many Republicans argued the system was unfair; supporters argued it correctly identified the candidate preferred by a majority of voters in a race with multiple candidates.

Alaska Senate (Murkowski): Senator Lisa Murkowski won reelection in November 2022 using Alaska's RCV system, defeating Trump-endorsed challenger Kelly Tshibaka. Murkowski finished second on first-choice votes to Tshibaka but won in later rounds as second-choice votes from Democrat Patricia Chesbro's supporters largely transferred to her. Without RCV, Murkowski — who voted to convict Trump in his impeachment trial — might have lost in a Republican primary under the old closed primary system.

In 2026, Murkowski is not on the ballot (her term runs through 2028). The Alaska House seat, where Democrat Mary Peltola holds the seat, is the main 2026 RCV battleground. Peltola is considered vulnerable in a state Trump won by 13 points in 2024. The question is whether the Republican field produces one strong candidate or splits again.

Maine-02 (Golden): Rep. Jared Golden has won under RCV in a district Trump carried — in 2018 he trailed on first-choice votes before winning in later rounds, and in 2022 he won outright. Golden has bucked his party on several major votes, positioning himself as an independent Democrat. In 2026, he is among the most vulnerable Democrats — but his track record in a Trump district under RCV makes him a difficult target.