Is instant runoff voting too confusing for voters?
Not at all. Many studies have examined if IRV elections used in various jurisdictions were confusing for voters. All the studies have found that voters handle ranking their ballots with ease. San Francisco State University’s Public Research Institute has conducted two exit poll studies and found that 87% of those who voted in San Francisco’s IRV elections felt they understood IRV – results that cut across all ethnic, age and gender lines. 60% of voters used all three of their rankings, and 61% preferred IRV over San Francisco’s old two round runoff system. Another poll by the Asian Law Caucus found similar results. The results undoubtedly were so positive because the role for voters is very simple—just rank as many of your favorite candidates as you wish, 1, 2, 3. It’s like going to Baskin Robbins 31 flavors of ice cream, and picking your top three flavors. We are used to ranking things all the time, from our favorite sports teams to our favorite videos and foods, so ranking candidates
