The midterm elections are a week away, and ranked choice voting (RCV) will get a national spotlight. RCV races in Alaska and Maine could determine control of Congress. There are also 14 cities and counties using RCV, and four RCV ballot measures.

Today’s article shares everything you need to know about ranked choice voting in the midterms. First, check out our video overview of RCV in 2026:

RCV in Alaska

This year’s most closely watched RCV elections are in Alaska, where voters will use RCV to choose their U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor, and state legislators. Alaska will also vote on whether to maintain its election system. Here are FairVote’s resources on Alaska’s 2026 elections:

• What to expect in Alaska’s 2026 ranked choice voting elections
• When should we expect results in Alaska’s ranked choice voting elections?
• Trump administration sues to block Alaska Senate election result
• Dan Sullivan faces Dan Sullivan for Alaska Senate seat

FairVote CEO Meredith Sumpter discussed Alaska’s Senate election in the video below:

RCV in Maine, DC, and elsewhere

Ranked choice voting will be used in Maine, 12 cities, and two counties on November 3 – including for the first time in Multnomah County, OR. Here are FairVote’s resources on those elections:

• Where will ranked choice voting be used in the 2026 elections?
• Which Maine elections will use ranked choice voting this November?
• What to expect in Washington, DC’s ranked choice voting elections
• Ranked choice voting elections & collaborative campaigning in 2026

Have friends or family who are voting in their first ranked choice voting election? This video shows how to fill out an RCV ballot in just 30 seconds.

Ranked choice voting ballot measures

Three cities – Honolulu; Irvine, CA; and Longmont, CO – will vote on whether to adopt ranked choice voting. Honolulu is home to 70% of Hawaii’s population; together, the three cities are home to 1.3 million people. RCV has won 34 of its last 35 ballot measures at the city level.

Here are FairVote’s articles on the ballot measures:

• Three cities to vote on ranked choice voting in November
• Who supports Honolulu Question 5?
• Who supports Irvine Measure D?
• Who supports Longmont Questions 3C and 3D?

For more information on these ballot measures, visit My Vote Counts Hawaii, Voter Choice Irvine, and Ranked Choice Voting for Longmont.

Other midterm election resources

FairVote has also published resources on other midterm elections, including analysis of why most Americans won’t get to vote in competitive races. See those resources below:

• Most midterm elections are already decided. Here’s how to fix the problem.
• Why don’t more independents run for office?
• “Fewest votes wins”: 22 likely new House members effectively elected with less than 50% of the vote in safe-seat primaries
• New survey: Americans want ranked choice voting in congressional elections

New report on recounts

When election results pour in next week, there may be talk of recounts in particularly close races. But as our new report shows, recounts almost never change the outcomes of elections. Read the full report: