Key Points
- Ranked-choice voting lets you rank candidates in order of preference instead of picking just one.
- If no one wins a majority of first choices, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots move to each voter’s next choice, round by round.
- Alaska and Maine are the only states that use it in statewide elections, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
- Ranking a second or third choice does not hurt your first choice, because a lower ranking counts only after your higher choices are eliminated.
- Alaska voters will decide on Nov. 3, 2026, whether to repeal the state’s top-four primary and ranked-choice general elections.
Ranked-choice voting works by letting voters rank candidates first, second, third and so on. If one candidate wins more than half of the first-choice votes, that candidate wins. If not, the candidate in last place is eliminated, and ballots for that candidate count toward each voter’s next choice. The counting repeats in rounds until one candidate has a majority of the votes still in play.
The method is often called “instant runoff voting” because it does the work of a runoff election without a second trip to the polls. This guide explains how the rounds are counted, what happens to single-choice ballots, where the system is used and why it is on Alaska’s ballot this fall, using official state sources, NCSL and Ballotpedia. It takes no side on whether the system is a good idea.
What is ranked-choice voting?
Maine’s Department of the Secretary of State, in its ranked-choice voting FAQ, describes it as a method that “allows voters to choose their candidates in order of preference, by marking candidates as their first, second, third, and subsequent choices.” Votes are then tabulated in rounds.
That differs from plurality voting, where each voter picks one candidate and whoever gets the most votes wins, even with well under half. NCSL points to Maine’s 2010 governor’s race, which was won with 38% in a four-candidate field, as an example supporters often cite.
On Alaska’s ballot, candidates are listed in rows and rankings in columns. You fill in no more than one oval per candidate and per column, and you do not have to rank everyone. If you make a mistake, Alaska says you can ask for a new ballot.
How are ranked-choice votes counted?
Election officials in Alaska and Maine describe the count like this:
- Round one: Officials count every ballot’s first choice. If a candidate has a majority, meaning more than 50%, that candidate wins and counting stops.
- Elimination: If no one has a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
- Transfer: Every ballot that was counting for the eliminated candidate now counts for the next candidate ranked on that ballot who is still in the race.
- Repeat: The count runs again. Rounds continue until a candidate has a majority of the remaining votes, or until two candidates are left and the one with more votes wins.
Here is a simple hypothetical example with 100 ballots and three candidates. The numbers are invented to show the mechanics and do not describe any real election.
| Round | Candidate A | Candidate B | Candidate C | Exhausted ballots | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 (first choices) | 40 | 35 | 25 | 0 | No one above 50%; C has the fewest and is eliminated |
| Round 2 (after C’s ballots move) | 46 | 50 | Eliminated | 4 | B wins with 50 of 96 continuing ballots, about 52% |
In this example, 15 of C’s 25 voters ranked B second, 6 ranked A second and 4 ranked no one else. Candidate A led on first choices but lost once the second choices of C’s voters were counted. Note that the winning majority is measured against ballots still in the count, not every ballot cast.
What happens if you rank only one candidate?
It still counts. Alaska’s Division of Elections says that if you vote for only one candidate, your vote is counted in round one and stays with that candidate throughout the tabulation. Maine gives similar guidance: marking only a first choice is valid, and so is marking the same candidate in every column.
The catch comes if your only candidate, or every candidate you ranked, is eliminated. At that point your ballot has no remaining choice to count toward, and it becomes what election officials and Ballotpedia call an exhausted ballot. It counted in earlier rounds but is not part of the final-round total.
A few other rules are worth knowing before you mark a ballot:
- Do not give two candidates the same rank. Alaska’s official voter pamphlet says a ballot will not be counted for an office if the voter assigns the same ranking to more than one candidate in that race.
- Lower rankings do not hurt your first choice. Alaska’s pamphlet says second and later choices are counted only if the candidate you ranked higher can no longer continue, so ranking more candidates will not hurt your first-choice candidate.
- Skipping matters in Maine. Maine’s FAQ notes that two blank rankings in a row cause a ballot to be treated as exhausted.
- Ties have a rule, too. Alaska’s Division of Elections says a tie between the two lowest candidates is resolved “by lot,” such as a coin flip or drawing a name.
Where is ranked-choice voting used in the U.S.?
According to NCSL’s brief on ranked-choice voting, updated in March 2026, Alaska and Maine are the only two states that use it for statewide elections. Hawaii law requires it for federal special elections and special elections for county council seats, and the District of Columbia requires it for its primary, special and general elections for city and federal offices.
Many local governments use it as well. NCSL lists St. Paul, Minnesota; Portland, Maine; and several San Francisco Bay Area cities for general elections. New York City uses it in primary elections. Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Minneapolis use a version for districts that elect more than one member.
The trend runs in both directions. NCSL counts 19 states that prohibit ranked-choice voting in all or some elections, eight states with laws that permit or require it, and 23 states where its legal status is unclear because the law neither allows nor bans it. NCSL dates all 19 of those laws between 2022 and 2026.
NCSL also says six states, Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina, use a ranked ballot for military and overseas voters so that those voters can take part in a later runoff without a second mailed ballot.
How Alaska’s system works
Alaska pairs ranked-choice voting with a different kind of primary. Its Division of Elections explains that the state holds a nonpartisan top-four primary: every candidate appears on one ballot regardless of party, each voter picks one candidate per race, and the four candidates with the most votes advance to the general election. The primary no longer chooses party nominees. The general election is then decided by ranked-choice voting, and a candidate needs 50% plus one vote to win.
Alaska voters approved this system through Ballot Measure 2 in November 2020 by 50.55% to 49.45%, according to Ballotpedia. The top-four primary was first used in the June 11, 2022, special primary, and ranked-choice voting was first used in the Aug. 16, 2022, special general election, according to the Division of Elections. A 2024 initiative to repeal the system failed by 49.88% to 50.12%, which Ballotpedia calls the narrowest ballot measure result in Alaska’s history.
The question is back this year. Ballotpedia reports that Ballot Measure 2 on the Nov. 3, 2026, ballot would restore party primaries, end ranked-choice general elections and repeal campaign finance disclosure rules adopted in 2020. A “yes” vote repeals the system; a “no” vote keeps it.
Alaska does not run the ranked-choice rounds on election night. The state’s official schedule lists ranked-choice tabulation starting Nov. 18, as noted in our report on the Justice Department’s Alaska Senate lawsuit. The Division of Elections publishes round-by-round reports showing how ballots moved.
How Maine uses ranked-choice voting
Maine voters adopted ranked-choice voting by citizen initiative in 2016, and the state first used it in its June 12, 2018, primary, according to the Secretary of State. Today Maine uses it for all state-level primaries and, in general elections, only for federal offices, including U.S. president since the November 2020 election. For how presidential votes become electoral votes, see our explainer on how the U.S. Electoral College works.
Why not for governor or the legislature in November? In a May 2017 advisory opinion, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court concluded that the Maine Constitution requires those general elections to be decided by plurality. Primaries and federal races are governed by statute, so ranked-choice voting can apply there.
Ranked-choice rounds are used only in races with more than two candidates. If no one wins a majority on election night, ballots and memory devices from each town are securely transported to a central site in Augusta for the round-by-round count. The state says the tabulation is never done online and uses auditable paper ballots.
Ranked-choice voting vs. plurality and runoff elections
| System | How you vote | Who wins | Trips to the polls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plurality | Pick one candidate | Most votes, even if under 50% | One |
| Traditional runoff | Pick one candidate, then vote again in a runoff if no one reaches the threshold | Majority in the runoff | Two |
| Ranked-choice (instant runoff) | Rank candidates in order of preference | Majority of continuing ballots after elimination rounds | One |
NCSL notes that traditional runoffs are used in primaries in a handful of Southern states and in general elections in Georgia.
What supporters and critics say
NCSL summarizes both sides. Supporters say ranked-choice voting produces a majority winner without a separate runoff, reduces the “spoiler” effect in which a minor candidate splits the vote of a similar major candidate and helps military and overseas voters.
Critics say the system can confuse voters and that ballot exhaustion leaves some voters with no say in the final round, which they argue conflicts with one person, one vote.
The bottom line
Ranked-choice voting replaces “pick one” with “rank your choices,” then counts in rounds, dropping the last-place candidate each time until someone holds a majority of the ballots still in play. It is used statewide only in Alaska and Maine, is required in some special elections in Hawaii and in Washington, D.C., is common in some cities and is banned in a growing list of states. Whether Alaska keeps it is up to its voters on Nov. 3. For ongoing coverage of elections, Congress and the White House, follow the LiveNewsWorld U.S. Politics Live center.
Sources
- Maine Department of the Secretary of State, Ranked-Choice Voting Frequently Asked Questions
- National Conference of State Legislatures, Ranked Choice Voting (brief updated March 23, 2026)
- Alaska Division of Elections, Election Information: Nonpartisan Top Four Primary and Ranked Choice Voting FAQs, and 2026 General Election Official Election Pamphlet (elections.alaska.gov)
- Ballotpedia, Alaska Ballot Measure 2, Repeal Top-Four Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2026); Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
