Approval voting is a method in which each voter may vote for, or “approve of,” as many candidates or options as they wish, and the option with the most approvals wins. Steven Brams and Peter Fishburn analyzed it formally in 1978. Fargo, North Dakota, adopted it for city elections by ballot initiative in 2018, and North Dakota’s governor signed a bill in April 2025 banning ranked-choice and approval voting.
Definition
Brams and Fishburn’s 1978 article in the American Political Science Review defines approval voting as “a method of voting in which voters can vote for (‘approve of’) as many candidates as they wish in an election”.1 The ballot records which options a voter accepts, not the order among them. In a single-winner contest, the candidate with the most approvals wins; in multi-winner contests, the top vote-getters win.
Origin and history
Brams and Fishburn’s article “analyzes properties of this method and compares it with other single-ballot nonranked voting systems”.1 Among their results: approval voting “is the most sincere and most strategyproof of all such voting systems,” and “it is the only system that ensures the choice of a Condorcet majority candidate if the preferences of voters are dichotomous”.1 They predicted it would “(1) increase voter turnout, (2) increase the likelihood of a majority winner in plurality contests,” and “(3) help centrist candidates,” and suggested its institutional impact “may be to weaken the two-party system yet preserve middle-of-the-road public policies”.1 Those were predictions in 1978, not measured results.
Fargo. The Associated Press reported in April 2025 that Fargo “adopted approval voting via ballot initiative in 2018,” that “voters select as many candidates as they want under approval voting; the top vote-getters win,” and that three city elections had used it.2 The same report stated that North Dakota’s governor signed a bill that “bans ranked-choice and approval voting”.2
How approval voting is used and assessed
Arguments made for approval voting:
- It is simple to explain and count: each approval is one vote.
- A voter never hurts a favorite by also approving a similar candidate, which reduces vote-splitting.
- Brams and Fishburn’s analysis gives it strong sincerity and strategy properties among nonranked systems.1
Arguments made against approval voting:
- It treats a lukewarm approval the same as an enthusiastic one, so it records no intensity.
- Voters must decide where to draw the line between acceptable and unacceptable, which can itself be strategic.
- A broadly acceptable but rarely preferred candidate can beat one most voters rank first, which some see as a strength and others as a flaw.
Hypothetical example. Five candidates run for two council seats. A voter approves of candidates A, B, and D. Each receives one approval from that ballot; C and E receive none. After all ballots are counted, the two candidates with the most approvals win. No ranking among A, B, and D was recorded, so the result cannot say which of them the voter preferred.
Common confusions and neighboring terms
- Approval voting vs. ranked-choice voting. RCV records order and counts in rounds; approval voting records only acceptability.
- Approval voting vs. plurality voting. Plurality allows one mark per voter; approval allows any number.
- Approval voting vs. score voting. Score voting asks voters to rate each option on a scale; approval is score voting with two levels.
- Approval voting vs. priority surveys. An “approval ballot” on a list of subjects asks which ones matter to a person, with no order among them. The site’s Collective priorities chapter lists it among ballot formats.
How My Vote Forward uses the term
My Vote Forward does not run elections and takes no position on whether jurisdictions should adopt approval voting. In priority research, the framework treats approval as one possible ballot format, alongside ranking and allocation, and requires that any summary state which format was used. See Collective priorities and Ranking.
What My Vote Forward can and cannot do here
My Vote Forward can explain approval voting, its theory, and the debate over its use. It cannot conduct elections or advocate for or against adopting any voting method.
Unresolved questions
- Did approval voting in Fargo change who ran or who won, and what would a fair evaluation measure?
- Should an approval ballot in a priority survey cap the number of approvals to force tradeoffs?
- How should approval results be reported so that broad but shallow support is distinguishable from strong support?
Sources
- Steven J. Brams and Peter C. Fishburn, “Approval Voting,” American Political Science Review 72(3), September 1978, pp. 831 to 847. cambridge.org/…
- Associated Press, “ND governor signs bill doing away with Fargo’s unusual voting system,” April 17, 2025, as published by the Marshall Independent. marshallindependent.com/…
