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INstant Runoff voting
What is instant runoff voting?
Instant runoff voting is an intuitive and secure election method that selects the candidate with the broadest support. The Republican Party of Virginia has used instant runoff voting in party-run nomination contests for the past two years as a way to unite the party behind nominees with broad support who will have wide appeal in general elections.
Instant runoff voting has delivered strong consensus winners in Virginia – including Gov. Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Sears, and Attorney General Miyares – and provided additional transparency and legitimacy to the nominating process.
What are the benefits of instant runoff voting?
Voters have more options in primaries and general elections
Reduces the need to “vote strategically”
Voters can better express their preferences
Ensures a winner with majority support
How does instant runoff voting work?
Instead of filling in one oval on a ballot, voters rank their preferred candidates in order of preference: first, second, third, etc.
If no one receives a majority when first-choice votes are counted, the candidate with the lowest percentage is eliminated, and the voters who marked that person as their top choice will have their second-choice votes counted instead.
This instant runoff continues until someone receives over 50% of the vote.
How has instant runoff voting been used in Virginia?
Currently, instant runoff voting, a form of ranked choice voting, can be used in certain local elections in Virginia, including city council elections and county board of supervisors elections. This option (HB1103) was enacted with bipartisan support in 2020 by the Virginia General Assembly.
In 2021, the Republican Party of Virginia used instant runoff voting during its unassembled convention to select the party’s candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. Glenn Youngkin won the nomination through instant runoff voting, and went on to win the governorship of Virginia. Since then, the Republican Party of Virginia has used instant runoff voting in three congressional primary elections, and in 2023 used it in a Congressional special election primary and a House of Delegates nominating contest.
In June 2023, Arlington County used ranked choice voting in a state-run primary, making it the first locality in Virginia to do so. In the end, 84% of voters cast a ballot for a winning candidate – up from 45% in the last comparable two-candidate primary. And in December 2023, the Arlington County Board unanimously voted to permanently adopt instant runoff for its County Board primary elections.