Plurality voting has plenty of critics, so Maine is going to try ranked choice voting in the upcoming federal election. Via Reason:
In ranked-choice voting, citizens aren't asked to just choose a single candidate. They are permitted to rank the candidates from most to least favorite. In order to win a ranked-choice vote, a candidate is required to earn a majority of the votes (more than 50 percent), not just a plurality. In the event no candidate gets a majority of the votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is tossed out of the running. Then the votes are tallied again, but for voters whose favorite was just tossed out, their second choice now counts as their vote. This continues until one candidate has earned at least 50 percent of the votes.
This idea is that independent and third-party candidates have a better chance, and it does not perpetuate a two-party system where voting for a third-party candidate is "throwing your vote away." Mr. Beat explains:
