Why It’s IMPORTANT TO RANK YOUR VOTE
Ranking your ballot is as easy as 1-2-3, and the more you rank, the more power you give to your ballot.
It’s very important to rank as many candidates as you like (up to the maximum allowed on your city’s ballot):
• You have more choices and more power – use it!
• By ranking all your choices, you maximize the power of your vote.
• If your favorite or first choice candidate doesn’t have enough votes to win, your vote will continue to count for your second and subsequent choices, and you still have a say in who’s elected.
• You can vote your conscience without worrying that you’re wasting your vote.
• Voting only for one candidate or the same candidate more than once, will not improve that candidate’s likelihood of winning.
• If you vote for only one candidate, and that candidate is defeated in the first round of counting, you have lost your opportunity to weigh in on the remaining candidates, and your ballot won’t continue to the final round.
There are no downsides to ranking candidates:
• Ranking a second, third, etc. choice will never hurt your favorite candidate.
• Your vote counts for your second choice only if your first choice is eliminated. Your vote counts for your third choice only if your first and second choices are eliminated, and so on.
Rank Your Vote is a project of FairVote Minnesota, a nonprofit, nonpartisan election reform organization that engages hundreds of volunteers and thousands of supporters. Together, we work for a stronger democracy through public education and advocacy for Ranked Choice Voting, a system proven to be more inclusive, democratic, and representative than our current plurality electoral system. We educate and support candidates, elected officials, cities and voters in preparation for RCV elections.