What is Rank Choice Voting?

The prevailing voting system in the United States is a plurality voting system in which voters choose one candidate and the person who wins the most votes wins. Proponents of rank choice voting (RCV) point out potential issues with plurality voting:

• No majority is required to win. A candidate can win with 35% of the votes in three-way race.

• Minority views are underrepresented and independent candidates are viewed as spoilers rather than voters with ideas worth considering.

• Polarization and divisiveness. A winner takes all mentality discourages candidates from appealing to as wide a voter base as possible. There is an incentive for candidates to appeal to their base and try to disenfranchise other voters.

Fort Collins is one of four cities in Colorado, and one of 47 cities nationwide that have adopted rank choice voting, an alternative to the plurality system that dominates the election process in the US.

How does RCV work?

Instead of casting a vote for one candidate, voters rank the candidates from their most to least preferred. When votes are tallied, if one candidate has more than 50% of the votes, that candidate is declared the winner.

If no candidate has more than 50% of the votes, the candidate with the smallest percentage of votes is eliminated and votes are recounted. During the recount, the eliminated candidate’s votes are distributed among the other candidates based on how those voters ranked the other candidates.

The process continues until one candidate has 50% of the votes and is declared the winner.

Rank choice voting can take longer and be more expensive due to recounts. The benefit is that the winning candidate has the support of a majority of voters, even if a candidate is a second or third choice.  Campaigns are more civil and inclusive and allow for the consideration of more viewpoints and ideas.

PBS produced a video explaining rank choice voting as part of its Simple Civics series. After watching the video, consider donating to PBS to help it continue producing nonpartisan and informative programs!