About Ranked Voting

Frequently Asked Questions about Ranked Voting

Are you tired of…

  • • voting for a candidate you don’t like simply to choose between the “lesser of two evils” in elections?
  • an electoral system that creates incentives for powerful interests to sway grassroots candidates out of running?
  • • seeing winners elected with less than 50% when a majority of voters cast ballots for someone else?
  • • elections in which candidates with good ideas choose not to participate for fear to “spoiling” the election?
  •  

  • There is an answer -

  • • Ranked voting — also known as “instant runoff voting” — allows you to rank candidates in order of preference, letting you express your fuller opinion in elections!
  • • Ranked voting functions like a runoff election — dropping the least popular candidate and letting your vote count for your second choice if your top choice is eliminated — but without the additional cost or low participation of separate runoff elections!
  • • Ranked voting creates an incentive for positive campaigning, as candidates will vie for not only your first-choice vote, but your second-choice as well. Ideas and issues, not personal attacks, become more important!
  • • Ranked voting reduces the incentive for candidates with more money or influence to pressure grassroots candidates out of the race because they don’t have to fear the “spoiler” effect!
  • • Ranked voting is on the April 2011 Fort Collins municipal ballot, thanks to the efforts of dozens of volunteers from across the political spectrum who collected over 4,000 signatures for a citizens’ initiative.

 

How Does Ranked Choice Voting Work?


First round of counting:

The voters rank their preferred candidate first and may also rank additional choices (second, third, etc.). In the first round of counting, the voters' #1 choices are tallied. A candidate who receives a majority (over 50%) of first choices wins the election. However, if no candidate receives at least 50% of the #1 choices, a runoff occurs instantly (instead of a month or more in the future, as in traditional runoff systems).

Second round of counting:

If no one achieves a majority, the runoff occurs instantly. The candidate with the fewest votes is removed and the votes made for that candidate are redistributed using voters’ second choices. Other voters’ top choices remain the same. The redistributed votes are added to the counts of the candidates still in competition.

The process is repeated until one candidate has majority support.

Ranked Voting Video

This is a fun explanation from Australia about ranked choice voting (they call it 'preferential' voting)

It was done with and for kids, but gets some pretty sophisticated points across.

 

RV Flowchart

Used Around the World

Who Uses Ranked Choice Voting?

  • Around the world, nations such as Australia and Ireland use Ranked Voting. Great Britain will hold a national referendum on Ranked Voting in May, 2011.

    In the US, cities including Minneapolis, Minnesota, San Francisco, California, and Takoma Park, Maryland use Ranked Voting. Arkansas, Louisiana, South and North Carolina use it for some elections. Oakland, Berkeley and San Leandro, California conducted their first ranked voting elections in November 2010. Memphis, Tennessee, St. Paul, Minnesota, Springfield, Illinois, and Telluride, Colorado will hold their first ranked voting elections in 2011.

    Students at over 40 colleges and universities, the Republican National Committee, and college football’s Heisman Trophy use Ranked Voting.

    Ranked Voting is as American as apple pie and voters prefer it when given the choice.

    We can have Ranked Voting here – but first we must amend the city charter by approving a citizens’ initiative on the April 5th Fort Collins city ballot.

    It’s up to us!

Needed in Fort Collins

Why Do We Need Ranked Choice Voting?

Fort Collins municipal elections operate under a “plurality” system — the candidate with the most votes wins. If there are three or more candidates, a winner can be elected with less than half of the votes cast. In 3-or-more person races in Fort Collins, this happens about half the time!

When several candidates with similar views participate in a race, voters who agree with them “split” their votes, meaning that a candidate who the majority of voters disagree with can win simply because there wasn’t another candidate “splitting” his vote. This is often called the “spoiler” effect, and, because of it, voters often choose to vote for a likely winner rather than the candidate they’d truly prefer.

Plurality voting — vote for one candidate only — doesn’t given you the opportunity to express your feelings on the full range of candidates. It tends to lead to polarized, left-vs-right, “two party,” money-centered elections. Ranked voting helps address these issues that we see arise even in local elections…

There is a Better Way… Ranked Choice Voting!

Ranked Choice Voting (also called Instant Runoff Voting) enhances representative democracy by electing officials whose views correspond more closely to those of voters and by leading to better elections:

  • The candidate most preferred by over 50% of voters is elected to each office. 
  • More persons run for office because campaigning is less negative and they do not have to worry about being a “spoiler.” Debate on issues is broader and leads to consensus building because candidates want high rankings from voters who do not rank them first. 
  • More persons vote because:
    • • It’s more likely that there is a candidate who shares their views.
    • • Campaigning is more positive and substantive.
    • • Ranking the candidates prevents vote splitting.