How are the rankings calculated when using "rank options"?

In Simple Poll, rankings are calculated using Instant-runoff voting, sometimes called ranked-choice voting. It works like this:

Respondents rank the options in order of preference.

The option that receives a majority of #1 votes is declared the winner.

If no option has received a majority of #1 votes, the option with the fewest #1 votes is eliminated.

For respondents that ranked the eliminated option as #1, they will now have the option they initially ranked as #2 become their top pick.

These rounds continue until a majority winner is found.

Advantages of this method:

It finds the option with the strongest overall support among all voters, not only the option that got the most votes.
It allows people to rank an option that is unlikely to win as #1 since their other ranked options will be taken into account if the #1 option is eliminated. This means you don’t have to fear “wasting” a ranking.
It removes the need to run multiple polls, as a winner is always found, and a decision can be reached more quickly and with less effort.

You can find more information on this method here: