Ranked Choice Voting In Minnetonka: How Ballots Are Counted

MINNETONKA — Minnetonka residents will head to the polls next Tuesday — Nov. 2. — to cast their votes for several city offices and ballot questions.

Before Election Day head out, it's worth taking a look at how Minnetonka's ranked choice voting system works. While different than the traditional method used in most elections in the United States, ranked choice voting is gaining popularity for local elections across the country.

The ranked choice voting system allows voters to rank candidates in order of their preference. Voters can rank up to three different candidates for each office.

Note that ranked choice voting will only be used for Minnetonka's mayor and city council elections. It will not be used for school board, county, state, and federal elections.

How ranked-choice votes are counted

To win in a ranked-choice system, a candidate must have at least 50 percent of the votes. If that doesn't happen after the first round of tallying — when only the first choices on each ballot are counted — there must be a second round, and second choices are tallied up.

However, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated before a new round of counting begins. And the votes of people whose first choice is eliminated are transferred to their second choice.

If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote in the second round, a third round of tallying will take place. In the third and final round, all third choices are tallied.

The city of Minneapolis — which also uses ranked choice voting — created a video explaining the counting:

Here are all of the offices that are up for reelection in Minnetonka in 2021:

• Mayor
• Council Member (A and B)
• School Board Member (Elect three)

Read more: 2021 Nov. 2 Election: What's On My Ballot In Minnetonka