Could ranked-choice voting help save democracy?

In a ranked-choice voting system, rather than voting for a single candidate in an election, voters have the option to rank their choices in order of preference. If their first choice is not mathematically in the running after a first tally, their subsequent choices are taken into account.

Ranked-choice is also called “instant runoff,” because if top candidates are unable to win a decisive victory, voters’ second, third and even fourth choices are counted until there is a clear outcome.

Ranked-choice voting gained the spotlight in 2022 when Republican Sarah Palin lost a special election to Mary Peltola, who became the first Democrat in nearly half a century to represent Alaska in the U.S. House of Representatives. Peltola — who is also the first Native Alaskan and the first woman to hold the seat — won again during a general election that year.

According to the New York Times, Alaska’s ranked-choice voting approach disrupts some political party influence because it combines ranked-choice voting across party lines with an instant runoff between several top candidates. Katherine Gehl, founder of the Institute for Political Innovation, who became disillusioned with America’s two-party political system, is credited with Alaska’s new voting approach. In November 2020, Alaska voters approved a ballot measure that created a two-step process: a pick-one open primary, after which the top four vote-getters advance to a ranked-choice general election.

Proponents of ranked-choice voting cite the fact that they cost less (instant run-offs eliminate the need for additional elections), encourage less divisive campaigns (voters are still courted for their second and third choices, etc.) and ultimately favor more centrist or at least less extremist candidates. FairVote.org, a nonpartisan organization working to improve fairness in elections, lists ranked-choice voting as a major step forward for making American elections more representative.

Ranked-choice has been used in New York City’s mayoral race and in Maine, and a constitutional amendment to adopt a system similar to Alaska’s is on Nevada’s ballot in November, according to the Washington Post.

In adopting RCV, Alaska eliminated traditional partisan primary elections. Instead, primary voters choose one candidate from across all parties. The top four vote-getters make the ballot for the general election, where voters rank up to four choices in order of preference. A candidate who wins more than 50 percent of the vote is declared the winner. If one candidate does not meet that threshhold, election officials first eliminate candidates with no chance of winning, then reallocate the second, third and fourth choices of their voters.

After the “first round” for the Aug. 16 election, Peltola was in first place of three candidates with about 40 percent of the vote, according to PolitiFact. When Republican Nicholas Begich failed to win enough votes to continue, more of his voters selected Peltola as their backup pick over Palin.