J ♦ · Consensus · Draft
Rank-choice Voting
Voters order the options from favorite to least favorite, so a winner emerges even with many choices.
How it works
A proposal lists several options. Each member ranks them: first choice, second choice, and so on, and can leave out any they reject. Counting starts with first choices only. If one option holds a majority, it wins. If not, the option with the fewest votes is removed and its ballots move to each voter's next choice. The process repeats, round by round, until one option holds a majority of the remaining ballots.
Use it when
- You have three or more options and want a winner most voters can accept.
- Prevent vote splitting between similar proposals without running a second round.
- Elect one person from a crowded field.
Watch out for
- Ballots with many options are hard to fill in, and results are hard to explain.
- A compromise option that everyone ranks second can be eliminated in an early round.
Example
MakerDAO. MakerDAO voted in April 2020 to add instant run-off ranked polls, so MKR holders could rank several parameter options instead of picking only one.