Ranked-Choice / Instant-Runoff Vote Calculator

How to use this tool

1. Add the candidates (at least 2).
2. Add ballots - for each ballot, drag candidates into your ranked preference order.
3. Click "Run Election" to calculate the winner through instant-runoff rounds.
4. View the detailed round-by-round breakdown to see how the winner emerged.

How ranked choice voting works

In ranked choice voting (RCV), voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate wins a majority (50%+1) of first-choice votes, the last-place candidate is eliminated and those ballots redistribute to their next choice. This repeats until a majority is reached.

Where RCV is used

• Maine and Alaska (US state elections)
• New York City (Democratic primaries)
• Australia (federal elections since 1918)
• Academy Awards (Best Picture since 2009)

Round-by-round example

A simple 4-candidate, 10-ballot election illustrates how RCV works:

Condorcet criterion

A Condorcet winner is a candidate who would beat every other candidate in a one-on-one matchup. RCV does not always elect the Condorcet winner — if voters rank third-party candidates high and transfer votes non-intuitively, the Condorcet winner can be eliminated early. This is a documented theoretical limitation (the “center squeeze” effect) of RCV in races with more than three viable candidates.

Alternatives to RCV

• STAR voting (Score Then Automatic Runoff): rate all candidates 0–5; the two highest-rated go to a runoff decided by who was preferred by more voters.
• Approval voting: vote for as many candidates as you approve of; most approvals wins. Simple but loses preference intensity.
• Borda count: assign points based on rank position (last place = 1, second to last = 2, etc.); total points determine the winner.