From VPIRG:
This election will be the first this year to have Rank Choice Voting. In March 2021, Burlington residents voted to implement Ranked Choice Voting for City Councilors. It passed with 64% support.
According to the City of Burlington, Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is an election method that allows voters the option to rank candidates in order of preference (first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on). Ranking candidates is different from simply selecting one candidate or what is known as plurality voting. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the first choices, that candidate wins, just like in any other election. However, if there is no majority winner after counting the first choices, the race is decided by an instant runoff. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and voters who ranked that candidate as their first choice will have their votes count for their next choice. This process continues until a candidate wins with more than 50% of the vote.
For more information: vpirg.org/our-work/democracy/rcv