IRV: How it Works

Instant runoff voting elects political representatives with a majority of the vote in a single election. No second-round runoff election or primary election is necessary. Voters rank the candidates in order of their preference -- first choice, second choice, third choice -- and if their first choice cannot win, their vote goes to their second choice candidate as their runoff choice. Voters are liberated to vote for the candidates they really like, instead of worrying about "spoilers" or having to choose the lesser of two evils."

How the ballots are counted: first, you count only the number one rankings, and if any candidate has a majority (more than 50%) of the first rankings, he or she wins the election. No runoff election is necessary, which is exactly how elections work now. If no candidate has a majority, the "instant" runoff begins. Voters' rankings are used to determine a majority winner instantly. The candidate with the least amount of first rankings is eliminated, and ballots for that candidate now go to support the second choice candidate that each individual voter already has selected on her or his ballot. All the ballots are recounted to see if any candidate now has a majority of support. If not, the least-supported candidate once again is eliminated and ballots are redistributed and then recounted to see if any candidate has won a majority. This process of eliminating candidates and redistributing the votes continues until one candidate has more than 50% of the vote.

IRV works in much the same way as a two-round runoff system. In a two-round system, voters return to the polls a second time for the runoff and vote for second or third choice candidate if their first choice is no longer in the race. With IRV, voters have indicated their runoff choices ahead of time, using the rankings on their ballots to indicate who they support in a runoff if their first choice does not win. IRV eliminates the hassle of returning to the polls and the expense of holding a separate election.

IRV can be used at the city, county, state, or national level and in partisan or non-partisan races. In the U.S., IRV has been adopted and applied successfully in Burlington, VT and in San Francisco, CA, where it is widely supported by voters and has already saved the city millions of dollars they would have been spent on separate runoff elections.

To find out more about how Instant Runoff Voting works, watch this Flash Demonstration or visit the IRV Resources page.