← Back to Voting Theory

The Spoiler Effect

Adding a losing candidate changes who wins.

Spoiler Position

35
20

Scenarios

Voting Method

The Spoiler Effect: In plurality voting, a new candidate who cannot win can still change which of the frontrunners wins by splitting votes from one side. This is why third-party candidates are often called "spoilers." Alternative voting methods like ranked choice reduce (but don't eliminate) this problem, and approval voting eliminates it entirely.