Ranked Choice Voting: How It Works

Ranked choice voting is designed to allow voters to choose their preferred candidates [options] in a crowded field. It is not about who gets the most votes [initially], because the most may not be a majority of the votes (more than 50%).

To put it another way, "winning" with 21% of the electorate may not reflect group conscience. By considering voters' first and second choices, ranked choice voting can determine which candidate/option has won a majority (more than 50%) of votes cast. In other words, it allows the cream to rise to the top.

Ranked choice voting proceeds in rounds, sort of like a sports tournament. If no candidate wins a majority (more than 50%) of the first choice votes on the first round, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated.

However that "last place" candidate's second choice votes are awarded (as designated) to the remaining candidates. This is an iterative process that continues until one candidate has a majority (51% or more) of the votes cast.

In the meeting format poll, Status Quo, had the most first choice votes (18 our of 76 votes cast). But it did not win a majority of the votes; 18 votes is only 24% of the total. Parallel was the overwhelming second choice. It was tied with Hybrid for second place as a first choice.

So Parallel had plurality of votes yes, but not a majority (more than 50%) of the votes. Nor was it most favored (relatively).

Here is a good illustration from the New York Times of how it works. It's the model of how the ranked choice results were tablulated. I think the chief benefit of this method is that it gives a clearer picture of group conscience than a simple yea and nay.

BASICALLY ...
Round 0: Count and sort the first choice votes. If no candidate has a majority (51%) then ...

Eliminate the candidate (option) with the fewest first choice votes, but reallocate that candidate's second choice votes.

In this case, last place went to In Person Only with 9 first choice votes (12%).

1. ROUND I: Of the nine (9) people who voted for In Person Only as their first choice:
   • 3 chose Hybrid as their second choice
   • 4 chose Alternate Day as their second
   • 1 chose Parallel
   • None (0) chose Status Quo
   Those ballots were then added to their respective totals
2. ROUND II. Still a close race at the end of Round II! Hybrid 27%, Alternate Day 25%, a tie for third place between Status Quo and Parallel with 24% each
3. ROUND III: Repeat steps 2-4. Now it's a tie for first with 35% and 35%. Current second place Status Quo is eliminated but those voters' second choice votes are reallocated.
4. ROUND IV: We have a winner! Of the 18 people who voted for Status Quo, 9 of them chose Hybrid as their second choice, but only 4 chose Alternate Day, breaking the tie 54% to 46%.