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Rank Choice Voting Explained

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Rank choice voting [RCV] is a system of counting voters where people vote for multiple candidates in order of preference. First introduced in 2004, states across the country are adopting RCV. 

Adapting to a new voting system can be tricky for voters and campaign staff alike. Even seasoned staff have to rethink approaches to fundamental aspects of campaigns when working in a Rank Choice Voting environment. These challenges are amplified for campaigns further down-ballot who already have limited resources.  

Our partners at Deck have worked with small campaigns to navigate the new RCV environment using data. Deck has created a guide that helped us answer some questions we were afraid to ask about RCV, and some gave us some lessons from the 2021 NYC Elections that employed Rank Choice Voting. 

By CG Kelly & Aaron Bly