How ranked choice voting is shaping the 2025 elections

Dear John,

Election Day is just around the corner, and voters in 14 cities and counties will use ranked 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:

In this 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 candidate Tricia 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 candidate Emily 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 candidate Adam Eggleston

New York mayoral race dogged by “spoiler” accusations

In this fact 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 repeatedly said that “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 already seen the benefits of 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 Sherrill won her primary in June with just 34% support, meaning 66% of her party’s voters picked someone else. In Virginia, Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Ghazala Hashmi won her primary with just 28% of votes!

Research shows 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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