This year’s elections show a clear contrast between cities using RCV and those
with single-choice voting. Donate Today!


Dear John,

Election Day is just around the corner, and voters in 14 cities and counties
will useranked choice voting(RCV)! This reform offers voters better choices and
better campaigns, letting them vote their conscience without worrying about
“spoilers.”

FairVote is excited to share resources and analysis on these RCV elections, as
well as how we’re seeing the (spooky!) flaws of single-choice voting in some of
the year’s biggest elections – like New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia.

RCV prevents spoilers and gives voters more choices


In this video, we discuss the range of cities using RCV this year – from a first
use in Fort Collins, Colorado to cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul that have
used RCV for over a decade:

Inthis post, we dive into how RCV is shaping those races, and the local issues
at play.Across RCV cities, voters are getting more choice, campaigns are more
positive, and candidates can build majority coalitions without needing costly,
low-turnout runoffs.

In Fort Collins, several mayoral candidates have shared why they’re excited to
be running in an RCV election:

“We have so many great candidates… It’s really enlightening for people to
recognize this isn’t so binary as it is in a regular election and they have more
choices… I think RCV is really going to help us keep [rancor] out of our local
politics.” – Fort Collins mayoral candidateTricia Canonico


“RCV is such a great opportunity for Fort Collins. It gets more people to run
for office. It’s great you have more choice, and then also more people are out
there talking to people.” – Fort Collins mayoral candidateEmily Francis

“You also have to try and run for the number 2 and number 3 votes, so it gets
candidates out of silos. I also think it allows the elector to have more of a
voice in the race.” – Fort Collins mayoral candidateAdam Eggleston


New York mayoral race dogged by “spoiler” accusations


In thisfact sheet, we share how major 2025 elections without RCV have been
dogged by low-plurality nominees and accusations of candidates playing
“spoiler.”

For example, the New York City mayoral race has been dominated by a fight over
who is “spoiling” the race. Candidate Andrew Cuomo has repeatedlysaidthat “a
vote for Curtis Sliwa is really a vote for Zohran Mamdani”; Sliwa said Cuomo
“should step aside so I can defeat Mamdani.”

New York Times article covering the feud between Cuomo and Sliwa New Yorkers
have alreadyseen the benefitsof RCV in their primary elections: more choice,
majority winners, and campaigns focused on the issues instead of which
candidates should drop out. With RCV in the general election, New York could
skip the finger-pointing and voters could decide who holds the city’s top job –
not political insiders in backrooms.


Plurality nominees in New Jersey and Virginia


In this year's much-watched elections in New Jersey and Virginia, crowded
primary fields have led to non-majority nominees. In New Jersey, Democratic
governor nominee Mikie Sherrillwon her primaryin June with just 34% support,
meaning 66% of her party’s voters picked someone else. In Virginia, Democratic
lieutenant governor nominee Ghazala Hashmiwon her primarywith just 28% of votes!

Researchshows that candidates who win their primaries with majority support do
better in general elections. As we saw in New York, RCV in primaries could
deliver both majority-supported winners and more voter choice.

Thank you for supporting better elections with ranked choice voting, and we hope
you’ll make your voice heard this election season!

Onward to November 4,
Deb Otis and Avram Reisman
FairVote

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