In St. Paul, we use ranked-choice voting to elect our mayor and city council members. It isn’t as complicated as it sounds.
I’ll be casting two votes for mayor in our election on November 4. I have two choices: a first and a second. Voters are allowed 6 choices ranked from 1 to 6, but that doesn’t mean six choices are required. Cast your vote or votes for the candidates you want to win and ignore the rest.
St. Paul uses a ranked-choice voting (RCV) system for its municipal elections, including mayor and city council races. The system has been in place since 2009.
How RCV works in St. Paul
- Ranking candidates: Voters can rank multiple candidates for the same office in order of preference.
- Winning outright: If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first-choice votes, they win the election.
- Instant runoff: If no candidate gets a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
- Vote reallocation: Ballots cast for the eliminated candidate are then reallocated to the voter’s second-choice candidate.
- Repeat until a majority: This process continues until a single candidate receives more than 50% of the vote and is declared the winner.
What RCV applies to
- RCV is used to elect the Mayor and City Council members.
- It does not apply to the Saint Paul School Board race, which uses the traditional voting method.
