A Fairer, More Representative
Way to Elect Our Leaders.
To determine the Consensus Choice with four or more candidates, voters rank their choices, and the results are determined by comparing candidates head-to-head. Consensus Choice uses every voter's entire ranking - not just their top choice - to find the candidate with the widest appeal.
Try it: rank Ana, Ben, Carla, and Dev
Adjust the ranks below. The head-to-head results update automatically using the rules above.
Click to assign ranks (ties allowed)
One-on-One Matchups
HOW IT WORKS WITH 4 OR MORE
Step 1: Candidates from all parties compete in an open qualifying race.
An open qualifying election—without party restrictions—determines at least four of the strongest candidates who advance to the general election. The general election may often feature more than one candidate from each of the major parties.
Step 2: Voters rank candidates in order of preference.
In the general election, voters rank candidates in order of preference—1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on.
Voters don’t have to rank every candidate, but ranking more candidates allows the voter to reward less divisive and more balanced candidates in the opposition party.
Step 3: Candidates are compared head-to-head.
Once all ballots have been cast, candidates are compared in head-to-head matchups, in a manner similar to a round-robin sports tournament. Consensus Choice Voting asks:
If it were just Ana vs. Bob, who would win?
If it were just Carla vs. Dev, who would win?
And so on for every candidate pair.
The voter’s rankings are used to determine the winner of each head-to-head matchup. For example, if a voter ranks Ana above Bob, then the voter's ballot counts for Ana in her head-to-head matchup with Bob. If a majority of voters rank Ana over Bob, then Ana wins that matchup. Watch a video to learn more about how ballots are counted.
Step 4: The candidate who defeats every other candidate wins the election.
The winning candidate is the candidate who defeats every other candidate head-to-head. This ensures that the winner is someone who balances the views of the electorate—not just a narrow group of partisans. In Consensus Choice, the winner is the consensus choice of the voters.
For example, if Carol wins her matchups against Ann, Bob, and David, then Carol is the winner. No matter who she is compared against, a majority of voters prefer her—making her the Consensus Choice.
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