Instant-runoff voting

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Instant-runoff voting (IRV; US/CA: ranked-choice voting (RCV), AU: preferential voting, UK/NZ: alternative vote) is a single-winner ranked voting election system where one or more eliminations are used to simulate multiple runoff elections. In each round, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes among the remaining candidates is eliminated. This continues until only one candidate is left. Instant runoff falls under the plurality-with-elimination family of voting methods, and is thus closely related to methods like the two-round system and party primary. Instant-runoff voting is used in the national elections of several countries, especially countries which were formerly part of the British Empire. It is used to elect members of the Australian House of Representatives and the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea, and to elect the head of state in India, Ireland, and Sri Lanka. The system was first discussed by the Marquis de Condorcet, who showed the rule could eliminate the...

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