With ranked-choice voting, voters mark their ballots in order of preference – 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on. To learn more about how to mark a ballot, see the information below.
When electing a single candidate — like a race for Mayor, all first choices are tallied. If a candidate wins a majority among the first-choice votes, that candidate is the winner.
If not, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. The second choices from those ballots are then added to the remaining candidates. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of the final votes. To learn more about Single-Winner RCV, click on the link below.
Ranked-choice voting works equally well when there are multiple seats to fill. The threshold for winning is adjusted depending on the number of seats to fill. A similar process of eliminating and electing candidates through rounds of counting occurs until all the seats are filled. To learn more about Multi-Winner RCV, click on the link below.
TYPES OF RCV
HOW TO MARK A BALLOT
For voters, marking a ranked-choice voting ballot is simple. Voters rank their choices in order of preference – 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on.
1. Select a first-choice candidate by completely filling in the oval next to the candidate’s name in the FIRST CHOICE column.
2. If you have a second-choice candidate, completely fill in the oval next to that candidate’s name in the SECOND CHOICE column.
3. If you have a third-choice candidate, completely fill in the oval next to that candidate’s name in the THIRD CHOICE column.
4. If your ballot allows more than the three rankings in the examples below, you can continue to rank candidates until you run out of allowable rankings or run out of candidates.
Here are some important points about correctly marking a ranked-choice voting ballot:
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Make only one choice per column.
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Do not skip columns.
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You may rank as few candidates as you would like.
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You may rank as many candidates as are allowed.
EXAMPLE 1:
Correctly marked ballot, on which voter has indicated a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice.
So that you fully understand the CORRECT way to mark the ranked-choice ballot, let’s take a look at these examples of IMPROPERLY marked ballots where the voter is directed to select their first, second, and third choice candidates, and how the ballot will be counted.
EXAMPLE 2:
Overvoted 2nd ranking where 1st choice is marked correctly, two candidates are marked for 2nd choice, 3rd choice is not marked.
How this voter’s ballot will be counted:
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The first choice will be counted.
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The second choice vote will not be counted – voter’s intent cannot be determined because this column has been overvoted.
EXAMPLE 3:
Duplicate ranking where the same candidate is marked for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices.
How this voter’s ballot will be counted:
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The first choice will be counted.
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If the first-choice candidate is eliminated, the second and third choices cannot be considered, as they are duplications.