BURLINGTON, Vt. -- The Progressive Party candidate for mayor started his campaign late and was outspent by the Democrats. But Bob Kiss won the office, thanks in part to a new election system that ensures a winner is decided on election night, even in a five-way race.

Kiss, a state representative, received 39 percent of the vote on the first ballot Tuesday, while Democrat Hinda Miller had 31 percent and Republican Kevin Curley won 26 percent.

Curley and two trailing independent candidates were then dropped out of the count and their votes re-allocated according to voters' second choices. Kiss won on the second count, with 4,761 votes to Miller's 3,986.

"I think it ran really smoothly," said Jo LaMarche, the city's election director, just after the announcement of Kiss' win.

Under instant runoff voting, also known as ranked-choice voting, residents voted for their first choice for mayor, but then listed as well their second, third, fourth and fifth choices in the five-way race.

The aim is to settle highly competitive contests with a single trip to the voting booth, saving the city thousands on runoff elections.

Burlington was being closely watched by advocates of various election reforms. Some cities in Washington state have been given the option of using instant runoff voting and San Francisco already has elected some city officials under the system. A small city in Michigan also is expected to adopt the practice soon.

Although small itself, Burlington got attention because it's the largest city in Vermont and because it was the hometown of Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean, a supporter of instant runoff voting who cast his ballot Tuesday morning.

Kiss will succeed Mayor Peter Clavelle, who announced last year he would not seek an eighth two-year term in the city of nearly 40,000 people.