Policy Backgrounders

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Policy Backgrounders

CED’s Policy Backgrounders provide timely insights on prominent business and economic policy issues facing the nation.

Ranked Choice Voting

April 18, 2023

Ranked choice voting (RCV) is a process for elections that allows voters to rank candidates for a particular office in order of preference.

Several states and dozens of jurisdictions have adopted RCV: Maine and Alaska use it for all statewide elections; other states permit it for some elections. It has been used in municipal elections in Cambridge, Massachusetts since 1941 and in New York City since 2021.

Proponents point to the reduction of negative campaign tactics: RCV proponents argue that the system reduces negative campaign tactics, as candidates do not only need the first-choice votes of their supporters, but also the secondary votes from those who prefer other candidates.

Some states are banning use of RCV: Four states (Florida, Tennessee, South Dakota, and Idaho) have banned use of RCV in the last two years; other states are considering doing so.

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