With ranked choice voting (RCV), voters mark their ballots in order of preference – first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on. Whether using single-winner RCV or proportional RCV, the voter experience is the same. Voters rank their choices in order of preference. See below to learn how to mark an RCV ballot.
Once all ballots have been collected, election officials apply established tabulation rules to identify the winner or winners. To learn more about single-winner RCV and proportional RCV, check out TYPES OF RCV.
HOW TO MARK AN RCV BALLOT
For voters, marking an RCV ballot is simple. Voters rank their choices in order of preference – first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on.
-
Select a first-choice candidate by completely filling in the oval next to the candidate’s name in the 1ST CHOICE column.
-
If you have a second-choice candidate, completely fill in the oval next to that candidate’s name in the 2ND CHOICE column.
-
If you have a third-choice candidate, completely fill in the oval next to that candidate’s name in the 3RD CHOICE column.
-
If your ballot allows more than the three rankings in the examples below, you can continue to rank candidates until you run out of allowable rankings or run out of candidates.
Here are some important points about correctly marking an RCV ballot:
- Make only one choice per column.
- Do not skip columns.
- You may rank as few candidates as you would like.
- You may rank as many candidates as are allowed.
To fully understand the CORRECT way to mark an RCV ballot, let’s take a look at these examples of marked ballots where the voter is directed to select their first, second, and third choice candidates and how the ballot will be counted.
EXAMPLE 1:
A correctly marked ballot on which the voter has indicated a first, second, and third choice.
EXAMPLE 2:
The second ranking is an overvote. On this ballot, the first choice is marked correctly, two candidates are marked for the second choice, and the third choice is not marked.
How this voter’s ballot will be counted:
- The first choice will be counted.
- If the first-choice candidate is eliminated, the second choice will not be counted – the voter’s intent cannot be determined because this column has been overvoted.
EXAMPLE 3:
This is a duplicate ranking. On this ballot, the same candidate is marked for the first, second, and third choices.
How this voter’s ballot will be counted:
- The first choice will be counted.
- If the first-choice candidate is eliminated, the second and third choices cannot be considered, as they are duplications.