What is the spoiler effect, and how does Ranked-Choice Voting address it?

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The spoiler effect happens when a third candidate siphons votes away from a more similar, viable candidate, changing the outcome in a way that isn’t the pure expression of voters’ top preferences. In a traditional winner-take-all (plurality) system, many people may hold a strong first choice but fear helping their least-preferred option win, so they vote strategically for a safer alternative. That dynamic can let a candidate who isn’t the most broadly preferred win simply because the vote is split.

Ranked-choice voting addresses this by letting voters list candidates in order of preference. If no candidate has a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated and those ballots are transferred to the next preferred candidate on each ballot. This process repeats until someone has a majority. Because votes for a spoiler candidate can flow to a voter’s second (or later) choice, the final outcome reflects broader support rather than being driven by vote-splitting, and voters can support their true top choice without as much fear of helping an undesired winner. It also keeps third-party or less-known candidates on the table because their voters can still influence the result through subsequent preferences.

The other statements aren’t accurate: the method isn’t lottery-based, it doesn’t inherently push toward a single-party government, and it doesn’t prevent third parties from running.