Beginning in June 2023, Arlington County will adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) for local elections.

How does it work?

With ranked choice voting (RCV), you get to vote for candidates on your ballot in order of your preference - first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.

Ballots are counted in rounds in which candidates receiving the fewest votes are eliminated. Then, their supporters’ ballots are counted toward the next choice indicated on their ballot.

Ranked choice voting may be available in your area, contact your local elections officials for more information. Voters in Santa Fe and Las Cruces began using Ranked Choice Voting in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

All general elections in the state of Alaska are conducted by Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). RCV allows you to rank candidates in order of preference. Only the top four candidates who received the greatest number of votes for any office in the primary will appear on the general election ballot. There will still be a space for write-in candidates. If no candidate receives a majority of 1st choice votes in the 1st round of counting, more rounds of counting continue until a candidate reaches a majority.

Beginning in 2021, several cities across Utah will be piloting a new Ranked Choice voting system in municipal elections. Those cities are:

Beginning in 2021, New York City will use a new Ranked Choice Voting system for the Primary and Special Elections. Voters will vote for up to 5 candidates in order of preference (1st choice, 2nd choice, etc.). If you would like to just vote for 1 candidate you may still do so, but each candidate may only have one ranking. For more information please contact the New York City Board of Elections.

Maine allows voters to vote using Ranked Choice Voting for all state-level primary elections, and in general elections ONLY for federal offices, including the office of U.S. President. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank the candidates in the order of their preference. 

How does Ranked Choice Voting work?