How It Works
Instead of making the taxpayers foot the bill for party nominations in a low turnout primary, IRV uses a
single election in November. Each party may nominate as many candidates as it would like to be on the November ballot. Voters simply rank as many candidates as they like, in order of preference. If a candidate receives a majority of the first choices, he or she is elected. If no candidate receives a majority, the last place candidate is eliminated and those votes get allocated to the voters' second choices. This process continues until one candidate gains a majority of votes.
Watch an animated demonstration of IRV!
Learn more about IRV
Jurisdictions that use IRV
- San Francisco (Mayor & Board of Supervisors)
- Burlington, Vermont (Mayor)
- South Carolina, Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama (military and overseas absentee voters)
- The student governments at the University of Washington and Whitman, along with dozens of other schools.
- It has been approved by the citizens of Berkeley (CA), Takoma Park (MD) and Ferndale (MI).
- North Carolina (statewide judicial vacancies)
- Ireland (President)
- Australia (House of Representatives)
- London (Mayor)
- IRV is on the November 2006 ballot in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Oakland and Davis, California.