Voter Turnout and Participation
Voter Turnout and Participation Under RCV
When more people vote, our democracy -- and our country -- are stronger. When turnout is high, winners are more likely to reflect the will of the voting public and act on their wishes in government. Ultimately, voters have a greater say in the policies that affect their lives, and our government truly is "of, by, and for the people." This section explores research on the effects of RCV on two key aspects of participation -- voter turnout and voter engagement.
Does RCV increase voter turnout? The intuitive answer would be yes, since RCV allows more votes to “count” in a way that meaningfully impacts the results of the election. This should make participating sound more appealing than under a plurality system, where votes can become “wasted” or “spoiled.” Some research finds that RCV increases turnout while other research suggests it has little or no effect in local U.S. elections. Therefore at the least, RCV does not appear to decrease turnout. More important factors affecting turnout are competitive races on the ballot and elections in even years, according to researchers at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.
Voter Turnout
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RCV caused a 10 percent increase in turnout in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area when it was implemented in 2009 for Minneapolis and 2013 for St. Paul, according to a 2020 study by researchers in Australia. The effect on turnout was higher for precincts with higher poverty rates.
- McGinn, E. July 2020. Effect of Instant Run-off Voting on Participation and Civility.
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Youth turnout in RCV cities was higher than youth turnout in non-RCV cities, according to a 2021 study by researchers in Iowa and Wisconsin. They attribute the cause to greater campaign civility and mobilization and increased contact in RCV elections.
- Juelich, C & Coll, J. June 2021. Ranked Choice Voting and Youth Voter Turnout: The Roles of Campaign Civility and Candidate Contact.
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When compared to the primary and runoff elections they replace, RCV general elections are associated with a 10 point increase in voter turnout, according to a 2016 study by researchers at the University of Missouri in St. Louis. They found RCV did not affect inequities in turnout. (Read our one-page summary here.)
- Kimball, D & Anthony, J. October 2016. Voter Participation with Ranked Choice Voting in the United States.
- In 2018, San Francisco held a highly competitive special mayoral election at the same time as statewide primaries for governor and senator. More San Franciscans participated in the city’s RCV mayoral election than in non-RCV primaries at the top of the ballot, demonstrating that a competitive RCV election can drive turnout, our analysis found.
- Our analysis of RCV races in the six largest U.S. cities using RCV found stronger turnout in RCV races than those held before RCV implementation and compared to concurrent races in non-RCV cities. We did not control for other factors, such as competitiveness of races on the ballot, which could drive turnout.
https://e.infogram.com/_/9nL3bCvnsZT2906YvdXa?src=embedTurnout in Bay Area Cities With Control Citiesnoborder:none;allowfullscreen62211980
Voter engagement
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Candidates in RCV cities are more likely to reach out to voters in person than those in cities that do not use RCV. Additionally, voters in RCV cities were more likely to discuss politics with their families, friends or co-workers than voters in cities that do not use RCV.
- Smith, Haley. June 2016. Ranked Choice Voting and Participation: Impacts on Deliberative Engagement.
Additional reading:
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- Key facts about the use of ranked choice voting in 2014 in California’s Bay Area, FairVote, 2015
- Ranked choice voting in practice: Analysis of voter turnout in RCV elections, by Elliot Louthen (2015).
- The adoption of RCV raised turnout 10 points, FairVote.
- Ballot (and voter) “exhaustion” under Instant Runoff Voting: An examination of four ranked-choice elections, by Craig Bunett and Vladimir Kogan (2015).
