RCV

RCV is a simple ranked-choice voting implementation using an instant-runoff algorithm.

Instant runoff works as follows:

1. Count the number of 1st-ranked votes for each candidate
2. If any candidate reaches 50% of the votes, they win
3. If no candidate reaches 50%, eliminate the candidate with the lowest number of 1st-ranked votes
4. Allocate the ballots for the just-eliminated candidate to each ballot’s next-highest-ranked active candidate
5. GOTO 1

My motivation for building RCV was to better understand the dynamics of instant-runoff elections. Installation steps are below, but I have the same code running on my website if you just want to try it out.

Installation

At a command line:

1. Download source

git clone [email protected]:segdeha/rcv.git

2. Navigate to the project directory

cd rcv

3. Start a web server (Python 3 shown)

python -m http.server

4. Visit the page in a browser

open http://localhost:8000

Usage

On the application page:

1. Add candidates to the ballot (or use the “Seed ballot” link to add sample candidates)
2. Drag candidates from the “Unranked” area to the “Ranked” area and order them in order of preference
3. Add a name for the person submitting the ballot (optional, if left blank a random name will be generated)
4. Click “Cast ballot”