Ranked-choice voting in the United States

rdf:langString Ranked-choice voting in the United States

rdf:langString November 2022

rdf:langString Several cities in four states have adopted RCV both single-seat or multi-seat, during the 2022 United States elections

rdf:langString Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a ranked voting system used in some states and cities in the United States in which voters may prioritize (rank) their choice of candidates among many, and a procedure exists to count lower ranked candidates if and after higher ranked candidates have been eliminated, usually in a succession of counting rounds. In practice, there are several ways this can be implemented and variations exist; instant-runoff voting (IRV) and single transferable vote (STV) are the general types of ranked-choice voting systems used in the United States. Ranked-choice voting is used for state primary, congressional, and presidential elections in Alaska and Maine and for local elections in more than 20 US cities including Cambridge, Massachusetts; San Francisco, California; Oakland, California; Berkeley, California; San Leandro, California; Takoma Park, Maryland; St. Paul, Minnesota; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Portland, Maine; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and St. Louis Park, Minnesota. New York City is the largest voting population in the US using RCV. Ranked-choice voting ballots are used by all overseas voters in federal elections that might have a runoff election: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina. RCV is also widely used in non-governmental elections in the United States. Examples include: student elections at more than 85 colleges and universities; state arms of the Republican Party in elections held as part of state conventions in three states in 2020 and in Virginia for nominating statewide candidates in 2021; elections for officers in major associations such as the American Chemical Society, American Mensa, American Philosophical Association, and Society of Actuaries; and the selection of the Oscar for Best Picture by the Academy Awards. RCV was used by all voters in four states in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Between 1912 and 1930, limited forms of RCV (typically with only two rankings) were implemented and subsequently repealed, as also occurred in some cities in 2009–2010.