A new way of cheating. Rank Choice Voting.

A new way of cheating. Rank Choice Voting. What is it? 

Ranked choice voting (RCV) is an election method in which voters rank candidates for an office in order of their preference (first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on). Ranking candidates is different from simply selecting one candidate or what is known as plurality voting. If a candidate receives more than half of the first choices, that candidate wins, just like in any other election. However, if there is no majority winner after counting the first choices, the race is decided by an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who ranked that candidate as their first choice will have their votes count for their next choice. This process continues until a majority winner, a candidate with more than half of the vote, wins.

Several politicians have lost elections where ranked-choice voting (RCV) was used, most notably:

• Sarah Palin:  In the 2022 special election for Alaska's at-large congressional district, Republican Sarah Palin lost to Democrat Mary Peltola, despite having more first-choice votes than Peltola.  After Republican Nick Begich III was eliminated, enough of his voters ranked Peltola as their second choice, giving her the majority in the final round.
• Bruce Poliquin: In the 2018 election for Maine's 2nd congressional district, Republican Bruce Poliquin lost to Democrat Jared Golden, even though Poliquin had a plurality of the first-round votes. After the elimination of other candidates, Golden gained the majority due to second-choice preferences. 

Other elections where RCV may have played a role in the outcome:

• In the 2022 Alaska Senate race, Lisa Murkowski's campaign strategy was successful, which involved using a four-winner primary election followed by ranked-choice voting to win.