A runoff election is a second election held to determine a winner when no candidate in the first election met the required threshold for victory. A candidate must win a plurality (the most votes) and the majority of votes (earning more than 50% of the vote) to be certified as the winner. In races with multiple candidates, it can be difficult for one candidate to earn over 50% of the votes as votes are split between all of the candidates. Thus, a candidate may receive the plurality of votes but not the majority of votes. Some states have a threshold lower than 50% that the winning candidate must reach or the state may hold a runoff if two candidates tie.
Runoff elections can be held for both primary elections and general elections. Ten states conduct runoff elections as part of their party nomination process. In most states, this is a majority (as opposed to a plurality) of the vote. In North Carolina, however, the threshold for victory in the primary election is 30 percent of the vote plus one. The following are the ten states that use primary runoff elections:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Georgia
- Mississippi
- North Carolina
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota (only for congressional and gubernatorial elections)
- Texas
- Vermont (only for tie votes)
Two states, Georgia and Louisiana, require runoff elections in a general election when no candidate receives a majority of the vote. In every other state, a candidate can win a general election with a plurality of the vote.
Runoff elections suffer from voter dropoff, meaning fewer voters cast a ballot in runoffs than in general elections. General elections are more widely promoted with multiple offices up for election as well as ballot measures so voters are generally just more aware and motivated to turnout in a general election. In addition, runoffs often occur during the holiday season between mid-November and early January, which is already a busy time of the year for most voters.
