Where is ranked choice voting used?

Deb Otis, Matthew Oberstaedt | October 03, 2024

Ranked choice voting (RCV) works in all types of elections and supports more representative outcomes. This article lists some of the many places where ranked choice voting is used to elect officials and make decisions.

This article was last updated in February 2026. For a more complete list of jurisdictions where ranked choice voting is used, visit this page.

Where is RCV used in public elections?

As of March 2026, 49 American jurisdictions use ranked choice voting (RCV) in public elections or have passed it for upcoming elections, reaching nearly 14 million voters across 22 states and Washington, DC.

Two states, Maine and Alaska, use RCV statewide. 36 cities and 3 counties use it for local elections. One state uses RCV for special elections, and six states and one city use RCV ballots for military and overseas voters in runoff elections.

Where is ranked choice voting used in party primaries?

Republicans, Democrats, and smaller parties alike have used ranked choice voting for party primary elections. RCV a popular choice for parties because it strengthens party nominees.

Research from Northwestern University and FairVote shows that when candidates win their primaries with majority support, they tend to do better in the general election and are more likely to win. It’s no surprise why: When candidates win with a majority after a less toxic campaign, more voters are bought in and energized about the candidate.

RCV works in all kinds of primaries. It has been used in government-run primaries in New York City and Maine, party-run primaries in Virginia and Utah, and presidential primaries for both Democrats and Republicans.

For more information on RCV’s benefits for primaries, see these reports:

Where is ranked choice voting used outside of American politics?

RCV has long been used in public elections outside the United States. Australia has used RCV to elect its House and Senate – for over 100 years and about 75 years, respectively. Ireland has also used RCV to elect its parliament and president for over a century. Northern Ireland uses RCV to elect its legislature. RCV is used in Scotland and New Zealand in local elections.

RCV is also popular among private organizations. Here are several examples of where ranked choice voting is used outside of government.

Campus elections

RCV is used at approximately 100 colleges and universities across the United States to elect campus government officials. Not only do these uses make college elections more fair, but they also introduce young Americans to a better way of voting.

Private organizations

Dozens of private organizations use RCV to elect their leaders or make decisions, from labor unions to community clubs. A partial list of these organizations can be found here. (If you’d like to use RCV for your group, you can use run your own RCV election using these tools.)

The Academy Awards

One of the highest-profile uses of RCV is at the Oscars. The Academy uses the proportional, multi-winner form of RCV to choose the nominees for most categories, and has done so since the 1930s. They also use RCV to choose the Best Picture winner.

Learn more in this webinar with Tom Oyer, who spent 16 years at the Academy in a variety of roles – most recently as senior vice president of member relations and awards.

Sports awards

The winners of most major sports awards, from the Heisman Trophy to the Cy Young, are chosen using a form of ranked choice voting known as “Borda count.”

It’s different from the “instant runoff” form of RCV used in public elections across the United States, but the basics are the same – voters get to rank candidates, and the winning candidate is decided based on those rankings.

Visit this page to learn more about RCV in sports awards.