How to Count Ranked Choice Voting Results — Step by Step
Learn exactly how ranked choice voting (IRV) results are counted. Walkthrough of a real round-by-round tally, edge cases, and how to explain results to voters.
Ranked choice voting (RCV) — also called instant runoff voting (IRV) — sounds complicated until you watch one round actually happen. If you have ever stared at a ballot with 1, 2, 3, 4 next to each candidate and wondered how those preferences turn into a winner, this walkthrough is for you.
Below, we count a real 5-candidate, 100-voter election from scratch, explain each round, and cover the edge cases that trip up organizers. By the end you will be able to explain the result to a board, a bylaws committee, or a roomful of skeptical voters.
The one-line rule
In each round, if nobody has more than 50% of the active ballots, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and those ballots transfer to their next-ranked surviving candidate. Repeat until someone crosses 50%.
Step-by-step tally (100 ballots, 5 candidates)
Say you are electing a board president between five candidates: Alvarez, Brooks, Chen, Davies, and Ejiofor. After the 100-voter election closes, the first-preference tally looks like this:
| Candidate | Round 1 |
|---|---|
| Alvarez | 34 |
| Brooks | 28 |
| Chen | 20 |
| Davies | 12 |
| Ejiofor | 6 |
Nobody has more than 50, so the winner is not decided yet. Ejiofor has the fewest first-choice votes and is eliminated. Those 6 ballots transfer to each voter's second choice. Suppose 4 of Ejiofor's voters ranked Chen second and 2 ranked Brooks second:
Round 2
| Candidate | Round 2 |
|---|---|
| Alvarez | 34 |
| Brooks | 30 |
| Chen | 24 |
| Davies | 12 |
Still no majority. Davies is now lowest — eliminate. Redistribute Davies' 12 ballots to their next-ranked surviving candidate. Say 7 go to Alvarez, 4 to Brooks, 1 to Chen.
Round 3
| Candidate | Round 3 |
|---|---|
| Alvarez | 41 |
| Brooks | 34 |
| Chen | 25 |
Still no majority. Chen is eliminated. Chen's 25 ballots are split — say 17 to Brooks, 6 to Alvarez, and 2 exhaust (see the edge-case section below). Now we have the deciding round.
Round 4 — final
| Candidate | Final |
|---|---|
| Alvarez | 47 |
| Brooks (winner) | 51 |
Brooks crosses 50% of the remaining active ballots (98, after 2 exhausted) and wins. Notice that Brooks only had 28 first-preference votes in Round 1 but grew as lower-ranked candidates were eliminated. That is the whole point of ranked choice: it finds a broadly acceptable winner, not just the plurality leader.
Edge cases you will hit
Exhausted ballots
If a voter only ranked candidates who all got eliminated, their ballot "exhausts" — it stops counting. Always announce the exhausted count alongside the winner. Well-designed ballots encourage voters to rank as many candidates as they are willing to.
Ties at the bottom
If two candidates tie for last, your election rules decide the break: common options are eliminate-by-first-round-count, eliminate-by-lot, or batch-eliminate both at once. Document the tie-break rule in your bylaws before the election, not after.
Single-seat vs. multi-seat
The tally above is single-seat IRV. For multi-winner races (electing 3 directors from 8 candidates), use multi-winner voting or Single Transferable Vote (STV). The counting logic is similar but uses a quota (e.g., Droop) and transfers surplus votes above the quota, not just from eliminated candidates.
How TapVoter counts for you
If your election is on TapVoter, you do not have to count by hand. TapVoter tallies IRV, STAR, approval, and multi-winner races automatically and shows you the full round-by-round breakdown in the results dashboard — with the exhausted-ballot count and a clear visualization of each round. Export a CSV for your minutes.
If you are setting up an election, pick a voting method that fits your bylaws and see how best practices like clear ranking instructions and pre-announced tie-break rules raise your result's legitimacy.
Ready to implement these best practices?
TapVoter provides all the tools you need to run secure, transparent online elections that follow these best practices. Our platform is designed to maximize participation while ensuring the integrity of your voting process.
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