Press Release: 1/13/2026

Young Voters are Ready for Ranked Choice Voting

While voters across all demographic groups express support for ranked choice voting (RCV), the reform tends to be particularly popular among younger voters. 

In addition to letting voters express a wider range of preferences, ranked choice voting can level the playing field for young and non-traditional candidates. New candidates can run viable campaigns without being dismissed as “spoilers.

This post provides an overview of how young voters and candidates have engaged with RCV.

Young voters turn out at higher rates in RCV elections

At a time when young voters express strong dissatisfaction with the political status quo, they may be more excited to vote in ranked choice voting elections that offer greater choice and incentivize different kinds of campaigning. 

• Youth turnout is higher in cities using RCV, according to a 2021 study.


• In New York City’s 2025 RCV primaries, turnout crossed 1 million voters for the first time since 1989. Voters ages 25-29 and 30-34 were the largest groups in the electorate. (Older voters turned out at high rates too, as seen in the below chart from the New York Times.)

Young candidates win with RCV

Ranked choice voting solves the spoiler problem, letting more young people run for office rather than feel pressured to “wait their turn.” Below are two case studies of young candidates who have won RCV elections. 

New York City

In New York City’s first use of ranked choice voting in 2021, 19 of the 35 new city councilors in New York were under 40 years old. Among the winners were the city’s youngest-ever council member — Democrat Chi Ossé (23) — and Republican David Carr (34). 

In 2025, 33-year old Zohran Mamdani won New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary. He is the youngest New York mayor in over a century.

Twin Cities

Three-term Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was first elected in an RCV race at just 36 years old, making him one of the youngest mayors in the city’s history.

St. Paul voters elected their first all-women City Council with RCV in 2023. All seven women elected to the Council were under the age of 40.

Members of the St. Paul City Council (2023)

Young voters like ranked choice voting

Wherever RCV is used, surveys show voters like it, understand it, and want to keep using it. That’s especially true for young voters, who support RCV at higher rates than older voters:

• 68% of voters under 35 want RCV in federal elections.


• 68% of voters under 55 want RCV in presidential primaries.


• 80% of voters under 35 voted for RCV in Massachusetts.


• 88% of voters under 30 in NYC want to keep or expand RCV.


• Approximately 100 colleges and universities use RCV for campus elections in the United States.

 

As noted above, young voters’ strong support for RCV may draw from their particular dissatisfaction with the state of American politics. For example, in the University of Chicago’s December 2025 GenForward survey, 80% of voters ages 18-42 said the major parties “do such a poor job representing the American people that voters need more political party choices.” 

RCV would make it possible for more political parties to run candidates without simply playing “spoiler” – offering young voters the wider range of choices they desire. 

Learn more about voter support for RCV here.