Feb 8, 2024 (Updated Feb 12) – In the third-in-the-nation Republican caucus in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley, 74%-26%. The results are displayed here. 

Voters were able to rank the six candidates on the ballot using ranked choice voting; if their 1st-choice candidate had withdrawn, their vote simply counted for their second choice. In other states, voters may “waste” their vote on a candidate who’s already withdrawn – 700,000 Republicans wasted their vote this way in 2016 and about 5,500 New Hampshire Republicans did in the January 23 primary. About 10 percent of Virgin Islands voters cast their first choice for a withdrawn candidate, but the vast majority were able to have their voices count in the outcome because of ranked choice voting. 

Deb Otis, Director of Research and Policy at FairVote, said: “The U.S. Virgin Islands just made history as the first state or territory to use ranked choice voting in its Republican presidential primary.  

Poll sites ran smoothly, results were fast, and ranked choice voting allowed more voters to to be heard – whereas voters in other states might vote for a candidate who has already withdrawn but whose name remains on the ballot. The results will also reveal far more about Republican voters’ preferences than single-choice elections. 

Perhaps most importantly, today’s caucus shows that state parties can smoothly and successfully run RCV primaries. If more states used RCV, more candidates would’ve been able to stay in this year’s presidential race – allowing voters to decide among the full field, instead of party elites pushing candidates out lest they play ‘spoiler’ or ‘split the vote.’ With ranked choice voting, voters can identify a consensus, majority nominee in a multi-candidate field.” 

The results are displayed here. 

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