Exit Surveys: Voters Love Ranked Choice Voting
Deb Otis | July 01, 2025
Ranked choice voting (RCV) is a popular election reform, used in 49 cities, counties, and states. Exit polls and post-election surveys consistently find that voters like and understand RCV by overwhelming margins.
Below is a collection of exit poll results from RCV jurisdictions around the country.
| Jurisdiction | Year | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 2024 | 84% of voters said RCV is simple. |
| Maine | 2024 | 82% said RCV is easy. 57% liked having the ability to rank candidates. |
| New York City | 2025 | 96% found their ballot simple to complete. 76% wanted to keep RCV or expand it to general elections |
| Charlottesville | 2025 | 89% supported using RCV in future elections. |
| California Bay Area cities | 2024 | 92% understood RCV well. 70% wanted to keep or expand RCV. |
| Arlington, VA | 2024 | 88% said RCV was easy. 67% supported using RCV in future elections. |
| Portland, OR | 2024 | Voters preferred RCV to the previous voting method by more than a 2-to-1 margin (63%-28%). 91% understood RCV. |
| Utah cities | 2023 | 94% were satisfied with RCV. 82% said it was easy, and 67% said they were more likely to vote for their favorite candidate because of RCV. |
| Boulder, CO | 2023 | 86% said RCV was easy. 77% were satisfied with their voting experience. |
| Virginia Republicans | 2022 | 56% who voted in primaries using RCV preferred it to single-choice elections. |
| Minneapolis, MN | 2021 | 88% found RCV simple. 76% wanted to continue using RCV. |
| New York City | 2021 | 95% found their ballot simple to complete. 77% supported using RCV in future local elections. |
| Utah cities | 2021 | 86% were satisfied with their voting experience. 81% found RCV easy. |
| Santa Fe, NM | 2018 | 94% were very or somewhat satisfied with RCV. 71% supported RCV in future elections. |
This list of exit polls is updated regularly. You can find older polls about ranked choice voting here.