RCV Facts

Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) is a complex election process where voters can rank multiple candidates for a single office.

How RCV works

In an RCV election, if one candidate gets a majority of first-place votes, the other rankings are irrelevant and that candidate wins (basically, it’s like any other election). If no candidate receives a majority of first-place votes, then the candidate with the fewest first-place votes is eliminated. Ballots where the eliminated candidate was ranked first are “adjusted” in one of two ways:

1) If the voter ranked other candidates, the next-ranked candidate is moved up to get their first-place vote.

2) If the voter did not rank other candidates, the ballot is eliminated and no longer counted at all.

This process is repeated until one candidate has a majority of the remaining first-place votes. All this is dependent on precise data entry and perfectly programmed computers, since in any large election the RCV process relies on computers to run multiple rounds of adjustments and re-tabulation. This is an example of the RVC computer settings instructions for San Francisco.

In Idaho, out of state special interests are looking to manipulate the Republican Primary.

The RCV ballot initiative in Idaho includes a change to a top-four “open primary” for the Republican primary election. This is yet another radical departure from traditional American elections, but is distinct from RCV. Currently, the Republican Primary is for registered Republican voters to select the best representative of the Republican party. This Idaho RCV/Jungle Primary initiative seeks to trick Republican voters and upend the existing, proven system. It should come as no surprise then, that Left-Wing special interests such as George Soros’ Open Society Foundation and dark money progressive group, Arabella Advisors, are major funders of this RCV initiative.