There is no need for a second ballot with instant runoff voting — or ranked-choice voting. IRV maximizes voter support for the winning candidate and reduces the cost and delay of holding a second election. In states that allow absentee ballots, absentee voters can rely on instant runoff ballots to ensure their votes count.

How Does Instant Runoff Voting Work?

With instant runoff voting, all the candidates are on the ballot. Voters rank the candidates by order of preference. They will rank candidates in descending order. For example, their favorite candidate is number one. Then, they'll identify their second choice as number two and their third choice as number three.

During vote tabulation, election officials weigh the votes according to how voters rank them. This method of voting allows voters to cast second-choice ballots. They also have the chance to identify their ideal last-place candidate.

Whichever candidate gets the majority support as first-choice will win the election. The election results will show how each candidate performed and where voters ranked them.

Why Do Parties or States Use Instant Runoff Voting?

Political parties want their best candidate on the ballot. This improves their chances of winning a state or local election. One way they do this is by naming their strongest candidate on the ballot for the primary election.

Politicians know the state rules on voting thresholds. For example, some states/parties require that a winning candidate receive 50% of the vote, while others only need 40%. Some need a simple majority. (With plurality voting, a candidate doesn't have to carry more than half of the votes. They only have to get a lower percentage of the total votes.)

In elections where many candidates are running for the same office, nobody might get the necessary percentage of votes. (This happens often in primary and sometimes in general elections.) To identify the winner, election officials will hold a runoff election.

The runoff election method comes with challenges. Officials hold runoff elections on a separate day to create new ballots. If the election allows absentee ballots, voters need time to request a runoff ballot. It takes time for registered voters to receive it by mail, fill it out, and return it.

The same voters who participated in the first election might not vote a second time. The second election may not accurately represent the support the candidate will get in the general election.

Instant Runoff Voting Process

The ballot for ranked-choice voting looks different than a typical ballot. Also, election officials tally the votes differently.

Officials count first-choice votes first. If a candidate gets the necessary percentage of votes, they will win the election. If no candidate wins the minimum percentage of votes, officials remove the lowest vote-getting candidate from the ballot.

Once this process is complete, another round of vote counting begins. If anybody voted for the candidate election officials removed from the ballot, the people tallying the votes will move on to the voters' second-choice candidate.

Once the officials distribute all the votes, they add first- and second-choice ballots for each candidate. The candidate who meets the voting threshold wins.

If no one gets the necessary majority, officials remove the last-place candidate and repeat the process until there is a clear winner.

This video from Minnesota Public Radio demonstrates the process.

Ranked Choice Voting and Elections With Multiple Winners

Sometimes, a jurisdiction needs more than one candidate to fill an office. For example, there may be four open slots on a school board or water board, and seven candidates want those positions. The local government can use ranked choice voting (RCV) to determine multiple winners.

The instant runoff ballot lists all the candidates, and voters must rank the number of candidates the jurisdiction needs to fill open offices. In the above example, voters must rank their first, second, third, and fourth choices. They will not rank the remaining candidates.

How are votes tallied in multiple-winner elections?

In ranked choice voting for multiple winners, the tallying of votes becomes more complex. The process begins by taking the total number of votes cast and dividing that number by the number of open offices. To get a majority of the vote, add one to that number. This is the voting threshold each candidate must meet.

Vote counters then count first-choice votes to see which candidates meet the threshold.

• They all win if four open offices and four candidates meet the threshold.
• If no candidates meet the voting threshold, the candidate with the lowest number of votes gets removed from the ballot. Election officials then begin the process we described above.

A candidate only needs a majority in a regular election, so those "extra" votes have no real value. That's not the case with ranked-choice voting. After all, those voters also had preferences for who they wanted in all the remaining offices.

Once a candidate reaches the vote threshold, officials redistribute any "extra" votes to the next preferred candidate.

Ranked Choice Voting vs. Instant Runoff Voting

Instant runoff voting is a type of ranked-choice voting. In instant runoff voting, there is a single winner for an open office, whereas ranked choice voting helps select multiple candidates.

States That Use Instant Runoff or Ranked Choice Voting

Fifteen states use instant runoff or ranked choice voting.

These states include the following:

• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Indiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• New Mexico
• Utah
• Wisconsin

Three states — Alabama, Arkansas, and South Carolina — use ranked-choice voting ballots for military and absentee voters.

Instant Runoff Voting Pros and Cons

Runoff elections have pros and cons. This method is only available in the states we listed above. Some states choose not to hold these elections for practical reasons, and other jurisdictions may not use them for legal or political reasons.

Pros to IRV

Political parties and states have chosen instant runoff voting to address shortcomings in the current voting system. They hope it will help situations where the person with the most votes wins, even if they get less than half the votes.

This is the challenge legitimate third-party and independent candidates pose to America's two-party system. A majority of voters in a community may vote conservative (Republican or Libertarian) or liberal (Democratic or Green). By voting for the third-party candidate who best represents their views, they split the vote so that candidates they support the least can win the election.

The "majority" winner does not represent the majority's views, and the elected official does not have the voters' support. Many voters may stop voting in future elections as they worry they could end up with an elected official they don't want.

Instant runoff or ranked-choice voting ensures that voters' preferences win the day. It eliminates the problem of "wasted" votes because officials must consider the voter's second- or third-choice candidates. It also ensures that the candidate with the greatest level of support wins the election.

Cons to IRV

The most commonly cited problem with IRV is the complexity of a ranked-choice ballot. Some voters have issues with traditional ballots, and the ranked-choice ballot is even more challenging. When a city or state begins using a ranked-choice ballot, they usually launch an education campaign to help voters understand how to vote.

With ranked-choice voting, the candidate with the most votes may fail to win. This doesn't feel right to many voters.

Interested in Bringing Ranked Choice Voting to Your State?

If your community is looking for strategies to improve voter engagement, increase voter turnout, and provide better support for elected officials, ranked choice voting may be an option. Talk to a lawyer knowledgeable about the election law for advice and guidance.