Ranked (Majority) Choice Voting

65% of Americans support making elections fairer and more competitive.

Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is a nonpartisan majority voting system that guarantees a candidate will win by majority rule in an election with more than two candidates.  Unlike a typical ballot where voters get to select only one candidate, RCV ballots let voters rank all candidates in a ranked choice system.

To understand single-winner RCV, it is important to understand the difference between majority and plurality.  A majority is anything over 50%.  A plurality is simply the most votes, and is often under 50%, especially in elections with many candidates.  RCV is solely concerned with the majority.  With ranked – or majority – choice voting, if your candidate doesn’t finish in the top two, she’s eliminated, and your vote moves to your second-choice candidate.  This means your vote still counts, and a candidate most people actually prefer wins and therefore, democracy wins.  As the number of registered independents now nearly equals that of the two parties, RCV is the only system that ensures everyone gets a voice. Ranked choice voting is currently used in two states, Maine and Alaska, for state and federal elections.