Introduction
Thank you for visiting Theory of Ranked Choice Voting. The goal of this site is to make Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) easier to understand, including the different ways it can be designed and applied, along with the tradeoffs involved.
This site is not intended to advocate for or against Ranked Choice Voting. Instead, it explores how different choices in ballot design and vote counting can lead to different outcomes, and aims to make those differences clear.
In many discussions of RCV, people assume there is only one method for processing ballots. In practice, there are multiple ways to process ranked ballots, and the outcome can depend heavily on the rules used to interpret those votes.
Ranked Choice Voting allows voters to express more information about their preferences than a traditional single-choice ballot. It is often described as allowing voters to “vote their heart without wasting their vote.” Different methods use that information in different ways, which can lead to different outcomes even when the same ballots are used. This site also reviews USA RCV Elections that are commonly cited by critics, and explains how the results were produced.
Several key concepts will appear throughout the site and will be revisited across different examples and methods.
The concept of a “silenced” vote will be introduced as a vote in a single-winner election that does not affect the outcome. This includes votes for all losing candidates as well as surplus votes for the winning candidate.
Concepts such as “polar” versus “compromise” in single-winner elections will be introduced. When a voter’s choice effectively comes down to either A or B, and other options are not viable, we will refer to this as a “polar” election.
The concepts of “balanced” versus “distorted” representation in elected bodies will also be introduced. In elections where voters are limited to choosing candidates within geographic districts, the final composition of the elected body may not reflect the full range of preferences across the population.
This site is not part of any political movement and is not affiliated with any campaign, party, or advocacy group. There is no intent to promote designs, systems, candidates, or outcomes. To reinforce that independence, this site does not seek donations, advertise, or monetize in any way. However, contributions through discussion are certainly welcome. Whether it’s a detailed opinion, a disagreement, or just a quick thought, please feel free to share.
Thanks again for visiting.