To win, a candidate must receive at least a majority of the total votes counted. A majority is 50% of the total, plus one vote.
After all the votes (including absentee and affidavit ballots) are in, counters will tally only the first-choice votes. If no candidate wins a majority based on first-choice votes, the candidate with the lowest number of votes is defeated, and the second choices from each voter whose candidate was defeated are reallocated as if they were first choices.
We repeat the process until we are down to the last two candidates. In each round, the candidate now in last place is defeated, and the second choice votes on those ballots are redistributed. If the second choice on those ballots has already lost, the voter’s third choice is then redistributed, and so on.
The process is repeated until the top vote-getter of the final two candidates is declared the winner.
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