Analyze ranked-choice rounds with a simple worksheet. See eliminations, redistributed votes, and final winners instantly. Built for lessons, checks, reports, tables, and exports easily.
| Ballot Group | Vote Count | Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | A > C > B > D > E |
| 2 | 15 | B > D > C > A > E |
| 3 | 12 | C > A > B > E > D |
| 4 | 9 | D > B > A > C > E |
| 5 | 7 | E > C > A > B > D |
| 6 | 5 | C > B > A > D > E |
Round tally for candidate i = sum of votes from ballots where candidate i is the highest ranked active choice.
Majority threshold = floor(active votes ÷ 2) + 1.
Transfer rule = when the lowest candidate is eliminated, each affected ballot moves to the next ranked active candidate.
Exhausted ballot = a ballot with no remaining ranked active candidate.
Tie rule for last place = if the lowest tally is tied, the calculator removes the tied candidate that appears first in the candidate input order.
Plurality elimination is a round based voting method. It starts with first choice totals. The lowest candidate is removed after each count. Their ballots move to the next active preference. This process continues until one candidate holds a majority of active votes or the final round ends in a tie.
This calculator helps students, teachers, analysts, and election planners test ranked ballot outcomes quickly. You can enter grouped ballots instead of listing every voter one by one. That saves time and reduces manual mistakes. The tool also shows round totals, exhausted ballots, and the order of elimination. Those details are useful when you need an audit trail.
The math is simple, but the workflow can become long by hand. In each round, every ballot counts for its highest ranked active candidate. The active vote total excludes exhausted ballots. A candidate wins when their tally is greater than half of the active vote total. If nobody reaches that mark, the lowest candidate is eliminated. Ballots assigned to that candidate are checked again and transferred to the next available ranked candidate.
Plurality elimination is common in ranked choice discussions because it rewards broad support. A candidate with the most first choice votes does not always win. Later preferences can change the result after early eliminations. That makes this method different from a basic plurality count. It is useful for classroom exercises, civic simulations, club elections, and decision models in mathematics.
This page also supports partial rankings. A voter does not need to rank every candidate. If all ranked candidates are eliminated, that ballot becomes exhausted in later rounds. The report makes that change visible, which is helpful when comparing turnout, transfer behavior, and final majority strength. You can also review ties for last place and the tie break rule used by the calculator.
Use this page when you want a clear step by step result. The grouped ballot format supports compact data entry. The export buttons also make review easier. You can save a round summary as CSV and print the report as PDF from your browser. The example table below shows one possible setup. Replace it with your own candidates and rankings to analyze a custom election.
It computes a plurality elimination election from grouped ranked ballots. The tool counts each round, removes the lowest candidate, transfers ballots, tracks exhausted ballots, and reports the final winner or tie.
Simple plurality stops after the first count. Plurality elimination keeps going. It removes the lowest candidate and rechecks rankings until one candidate reaches a majority of active votes or the remaining candidates tie.
The majority threshold is more than half of the active votes in a round. The calculator uses floor(active votes ÷ 2) + 1, which gives the minimum tally needed to win that round.
Every ballot assigned to that candidate is reviewed again. It transfers to the next ranked candidate who is still active. If no ranked active candidate remains, that ballot becomes exhausted.
Yes. Each row represents a ballot group. Enter one vote count and one ranking string for that group. This makes large classroom or election examples much easier to enter and review.
This page uses a fixed tie rule for last place. It removes the tied candidate who appears first in the candidate input order. That keeps the result deterministic and easy to audit.
Exhausted ballots reduce the active vote total in later rounds. That can change the majority threshold. They appear when voters do not rank any remaining active candidate after earlier eliminations.
Yes. The calculator provides a CSV export for round data and a PDF option through the browser print dialog. Both are useful for reports, class notes, and review records.