Last edited Mon Mar 12, 2018, 05:06 AM - Edit history (1)
You just rank the candidates in order of preference when there are more than two candidates. If no one gets a majority after the first count, then the instant run-off kicks in. The candidate who scores the least number of votes in eliminated. Then the ballots of everyone who voted for that candidate as first choice go to their second choice instead. The votes are then re-tabulated. This continues until there is a majority winner. It is used in Portland, Maine's largest city, for their mayoral elections and it works great and is very popular there. Cambridge, MA has been using it at the local level since 1941. It takes out the vote splitting spoiler effect of traditional plurality elections and also makes campaigns more civil because candidates need people to vote for them as second choice if they are not the voter's first choice. So they don't want to alienate large portions of the electorate. Ranked Choice Voting is a proven voting method which gives voters more voice and more choice.