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Concept
Ranked voting
Summary
The term ranked voting, also known as preferential voting or ranked choice voting, pertains to any voting system where voters use a rank to order candidates or options—in a sequence from first, second, third, and onwards—on their ballots. Ranked voting systems vary based on the ballot marking process, how preferences are tabulated and counted, the number of seats available for election, and whether voters are allowed to rank candidates equally. An electoral system that utilizes ranked voting employs one of numerous counting methods to determine the winning candidate or candidates. Additionally, in some ranked voting systems, officials mandate voters to rank a specific number of candidates, sometimes all; while in others, voters may rank as many candidates as they desire.
The instant-runoff voting method is commonly employed for the election of single members using ranked votes. Conversely, the election of multiple members using ranked votes typically utilizes single transferable voting (STV). There exist other systems applicable for single-member selection or multi-member elections. Ranked voting in multi-member districts plays a part in national elections in Australia, Ireland, Malta, and the United Kingdom—specifically, the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments. On the other hand, single-winner ranked voting is used in the election of national-level politicians from the states of Maine and Alaska within the United States. Ranked voting is also utilized in Slovenia, and Nauru. For certain local elections in New Zealand, ranked voting is used. Moreover, in the United States, some cities, counties, and federal primaries across 16 states, as well as 5 additional states' overseas voters for federal elections, employ ranked voting.
Electoral system and Social choice theory
The earliest mention of ranked voting can be traced back to the works of Ramon Llull in the late 13th century. His interpretations, however, are not universally clear, and he is often believed to have favored Copeland's method, which used a series of pairwise elections instead of ranked-choice ballots.
Official source
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