How RCV Ballots are Counted
Ranked choice voting contests are counted in rounds.
- In the first round of counting, all first choice votes are counted. If no candidate receives the number of votes needed to win, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and votes for that candidate are transferred to their voters’ next choice.
- If your first choice candidate is eliminated, your vote is transferred to your second choice candidate. If your second choice candidate is eliminated, your vote is then transferred to your third choice candidate, and so on. This process continues until enough candidates have enough votes to win.
Tabulation varies slightly between single-winner (such as for Mayor and Auditor of Portland and for Multnomah County Elected Officials) and multi-winner contests (such as for Portland City Council).
In both types of election the number of votes needed to win, known as the threshold for election, is determined using the same formula:
Total number of ballots received ÷ Number of seats to be filled + 1
- When a single seat is open, this means that a candidate must receive more than 50% of the votes. Once a candidate receives over 50% of the votes, tabulation ends.
- When three seats are open (such as for Portland City Council), a candidate must receive more than 25% of the vote. Once a candidate reaches over 25% of the vote, tabulation continues to fill the second seat. If a candidate receives more than 25% + 1 vote, a fraction of every vote cast for that candidate is redistributed to the next choice on those voters’ ballots. Once three candidates have reached over 25% of the vote, tabulation ends.
Want to learn more?
For a breakdown of how single-winner ranked choice contests are counted, watch the ranked choice video below.
For a breakdown of how multi-winner ranked choice contests are counted, view this YouTube video.
For more information about how single and multi-winner contests are counted in the City of Portland, visit the City of Portland website.
