Ranked Choice Voting
Voters are frustrated by increasing divisions and extremism in our politics, partisan gridlock preventing action on critical issues and too many elections where candidates win without majority support; Ranked Choice Voting is a simple, commonsense change to the ballot, but one that is well-suited to meet these challenges. RCV:
Gives voters greater voice, choice and power
Eliminates the spoiler problem and wasted votes
Ensures winners have earned a majority of voter support
Fosters more civil campaigns and a more responsive government
Promotes more inclusive, diverse and representative elections
Reduces political division and extremism
In local elections, RCV eliminates the high-cost, low-turnout primary and combines the primary and general elections into one election in November when turnout is higher and more representative of the community.
How RCV Works
Ranked choice voting is simple. Instead of choosing just one candidate - you mark your first-choice, second-choice and so on. If a candidate has more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they win. If not, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those voters have their second choice counted. This process continues until one candidate reaches a majority and wins.
Local options legislation
Under current law, only a handful of charter cities have the authority to adopt ranked choice voting. Other local jurisdictions are governed by state law and don’t have the choice to use RCV — even if they want to. RCV is even more restricted because several charter cities hold elections in even years alongside state and federal elections, and there are no legislative standards for how local ranked-choice elections would work in these election cycles.
I support ranked choice voting local options legislation for 2025 that would give all Minnesota counties, cities, towns, and school boards the opportunity to use RCV if they choose, and provide consistent standards for implementation.
RCV has been tested and successful in Minnesota cities and across the country, and more local jurisdictions should have the opportunity to use it.
For more details see: Ranked Choice Voting FAQs.
About FairVote Minnesota
FairVote Minnesota is a nonprofit, nonpartisan grassroots organization that works for a stronger democracy through public education and advocacy for ranked choice voting, an electoral system proven to be more inclusive, democratic, and representative than our current plurality system. We support local initiatives to adopt RCV, work to expand RCV statewide, and provide education for ranked-choice municipal elections.
About the RCV Democracy Champion Candidate Program
FairVote Minnesota awards its 2025 RCV Democracy Champion Badge to candidates who support RCV local option legislation –– the ability of local jurisdictions to adopt RCV if they choose. Candidates must indicate their support through a completed 2025 candidate survey. RCV Democracy Champion Candidates may use the FVMN RCV Democracy Champion logo (above) on their campaign materials to demonstrate they support Ranked Choice Voting as an essential part of a democracy reform agenda. Multiple candidates in a race can receive the RCV Democracy Champion badge. The badge is intended to highlight the importance of RCV and help voters and FVMN volunteers identify RCV candidates to support. The badge constitutes an endorsement, and may be referred to as such in promotional materials.