Why Results in US House Hinge on Ranked-Choice Voting

The vast majority of elections in the US are guided by plurality rule: Each voter selects one candidate, and the person with the most votes wins. Critics say this system, while simple to grasp, means voters can’t fully express their views when more than two candidates are running for an office. An alternative way to vote, called ranked-choice voting, allows voters to rank candidates from favorite to least favorite.

Attention focused on the system after the Nov. 5 general election in part because officials in Maine and Alaska will use it to determine the results of two congressional races. That in turn could decide whether the Republican Party of President-elect Donald Trump controls the House of Representatives — on top of the Senate and the White House, both of which it secured in the election.