IRV Basics

In November 2010, North Carolina voters used Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in a statewide election to fill a vacant seat on the Court of Appeals and three Superior Court vacancies.  This simple system simulates a runoff election in just one trip to the polls. Here is a brief explanation of how to vote using IRV and how ballots are counted.

How to mark your ballot: It's as easy as 1-2-3

 

  • You rank your top three choices in order of preference: 1, 2, 3
  • You can rank just your top choice or your top 2 choices.
  • You should rank 3 candidates if you prefer those candidates over the rest of the candidates.           Keep in mind that your 2nd and 3rd choices will never hurt your 1st choice candidate.

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How ballots are counted: It's an "instant runoff"

 

  • Every voter has 1 vote in each race. No vote ever counts for more than 1 candidate at a time.

  • In the 1st round, all 1st choices are counted as 1 vote each. If a candidate wins a majority of these votes, then that candidate is declared the winner.

  • If no candidate wins a majority of the 1st choices, we hold an instant runoff. All candidates except the top 2 are eliminated from the contest. Any ballot ranking the eliminated candidates as a 1st choice is then counted for the candidate ranked 2nd on that ballot. If the 2nd choice candidate is no longer in the race, then the ballot is counted for the 3rd choice candidate. These ballots are added to the totals of the remaining candidates.

  • The candidate with a majority of the votes after the second round is declared the winner. The winner will always earn more than 50% of the final round vote.

  • This year in North Carolina, 1st choice votes in IRV races will be counted along with all other votes. If an instant runoff is necessary, a central count will take place in each county to tabulate the 2nd and 3rd choice votes and determine a winner. In the future, IRV elections could be tabulated more quickly using nationally available equipment.

 

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