Ranked choice voting could decide which party controls the US House. How does it work?

Associated Press

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — An uncommon system of voting could be central to which party controls the House. In Maine and Alaska, voters in competitive congressional districts will elect a winner this fall using ranked choice voting. In this system, voters don’t cast just one vote for their preferred candidate. Voters instead rank their choices in order of preference on the ballot. If a candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of voters in the first round of counting, that candidate is the winner. But if no candidate surpasses 50%, the ranked choice count continues until someone emerges with a majority of votes.