In a plurality election, the candidate with the most votes wins — even if that’s just 35% of the vote. Nine states reject this approach, at least in some contexts, and require a candidate to win an outright majority. When no one clears that threshold, those states hold a second election: the runoff.
How Runoff Elections Work
A runoff election is a second-round contest held when no candidate in the first round receives enough votes to win outright. The specifics — which election types trigger a runoff, what the threshold is, and how the second round is structured — vary by state and, in some cases, have changed over time.
The core logic is straightforward: hold the first election, check whether anyone exceeded the threshold, and if not, advance the top two finishers to a runoff. The runoff is a head-to-head contest where one candidate must win a simple majority — and since there are only two choices, someone always will.
Runoff requirements serve different purposes in different contexts:
- Primary runoffs ensure that a party’s nominee has broad support within the party, not just a plurality in a crowded field.
- General election runoffs (rare outside Georgia) ensure that whoever holds office was actually preferred by more than half of voters.
- Special election runoffs apply the same logic to vacancy-filling elections, which often attract large fields of candidates.
The threshold to avoid a runoff is almost always 50% plus one vote. North Carolina is the exception, using 30% (lowered from 40% in 2018) — and even then, the second-place finisher must affirmatively request the runoff, making it optional in practice.
Map: Runoff States at a Glance
State-by-State Comparison
| State | System | Threshold | Primary Runoff | General Runoff | Special Runoff |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Majority Primary | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | — | ✓ |
| Arkansas | Majority Primary | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | — | ✓ |
| Georgia | Majority Primary + General | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | ✓ All offices | ✓ |
| Louisiana | Jungle (Nonpartisan Blanket) | 50%+1 | ✓ All candidates | ✓ If needed | ✓ |
| Mississippi | Majority Primary (+ Statewide General since 2024) | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | ◆ Statewide only (2024+) | ✓ |
| North Carolina | Optional Majority Primary | 30% (was 40%) | ✓ Both parties (optional) | — | — |
| Oklahoma | Majority Primary | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | — | — (excluded by statute) |
| South Carolina | Majority Primary | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | — | ✓ |
| Texas | Majority Primary | 50%+1 | ✓ Both parties | — | ✓ (nonpartisan jungle format) |
Types of Runoff Systems
Standard Majority Primary Runoff
The most common type. If no candidate in a party primary receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two advance to a runoff election held weeks later. Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas all use this model for their primaries. Texas extends the same majority requirement to special elections, though in a nonpartisan format.
Majority Primary + General Runoff (Georgia)
Georgia is uniquely demanding: it applies the 50%+1 requirement to both primary and general elections for all state legislative and statewide races. No other state imposes a majority requirement in general elections across the board. This means Georgia voters can potentially go to the polls four times for a single seat in a cycle: primary, runoff, general, and general runoff. This system produced nationally prominent runoffs in 2020 and 2022, when U.S. Senate races were decided in January runoff elections.
Georgia briefly lowered its general election threshold to 45% from 1992 to 2004, before restoring the 50%+1 standard.
Jungle (Nonpartisan Blanket) Primary — Louisiana
Louisiana uses a fundamentally different structure: a single ballot where all candidates from all parties compete together. If any candidate receives more than 50% of the vote outright, they win — no general election is needed. If no one clears 50%, the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to a December general election. This can produce two candidates from the same party in the general election. Louisiana holds its state legislative elections in odd-numbered years.
Optional Majority Primary — North Carolina
North Carolina has the weakest runoff requirement of the nine states. The second-place finisher must affirmatively request a “second primary” within a filing window; the runoff is not automatic. It only kicks in if the frontrunner received less than 30% of the vote (the threshold was 40% until 2018). Given the 30% floor, this rule is almost never triggered in practice — a candidate rarely wins a primary with less than 30% of the vote in a two-party system.
State Profiles
If no candidate receives a majority in either party’s primary, the top two advance to a runoff held the 4th Tuesday after the primary. The runoff applies to both party primaries and special elections.
If no candidate receives a majority in either party’s primary, the top two advance to a runoff held approximately three weeks later. The runoff also applies to special primaries.
The only state requiring a majority in both primaries and general elections for all legislative and statewide races. Runoffs are held 28 days after the original election. Georgia’s general election threshold briefly dropped to 45% from 1992 to 2004.
All candidates compete on a single ballot regardless of party. 50%+1 wins outright; otherwise the top two advance to a December general. State legislative races are held in odd years. The system has been in effect since 1975.
Standard majority primary runoff for all offices. HB 1276 (2023) added a general election runoff requirement for statewide offices effective 2024 — but state legislative general elections remain plurality. Mississippi holds its state elections in odd years.
The second-place finisher must request a “second primary” within a filing window; the runoff is not automatic. Only triggers if the frontrunner received less than 30% (lowered from 40% by SB 656 in 2017). Practically never triggered under the current threshold.
If no candidate receives a majority in either party’s primary, the top two advance to a runoff held the 4th Tuesday in August. Oklahoma state law explicitly excludes special elections from runoff requirements.
If no candidate receives a majority, the top two advance to a runoff held 2 weeks later. South Carolina has open primaries — no party registration is required to participate. The special election process also includes a special primary runoff if needed.
If no candidate receives a majority in either party’s primary, the top two advance to a runoff held the 6th Tuesday after the primary. Texas special elections use a nonpartisan all-candidate ballot (similar to Louisiana’s jungle primary) with the same majority requirement.
Historical Changes
Runoff rules are not static. Several states have changed their thresholds or eligibility criteria over the decades, often in response to contested elections or legislative reforms.
Why Runoffs Matter for Policy and Advocacy
For state government affairs professionals and policy advocates, runoff systems create distinct dynamics that matter in three key ways:
Split Fields and Strategic Candidacy
In states with primary runoffs, a crowded field of ideologically similar candidates can split their shared coalition vote, allowing a candidate from a different faction to finish first — but then lose in the one-on-one runoff when the coalition consolidates. This dynamic is common in Southern Republican and Democratic primaries and frequently produces outcomes that surprise analysts who only look at first-round results.
Turnout Collapse in Second Rounds
Runoff elections consistently draw a fraction of the turnout of the original contest. In major Texas primary runoffs, turnout often drops 50–70% from the first round. Lower-turnout electorates tend to skew toward more engaged, ideologically motivated voters — which generally means runoffs favor candidates with strong organizational backing or highly motivated base supporters.
Extended Timelines and Advocacy Windows
In Georgia and other runoff states, a general election result that fails to produce a majority winner extends the campaign season by weeks. This creates additional windows for advocacy, organizing, and earned media. The 2020 U.S. Senate runoffs in Georgia, decided in January 2021, determined majority control of the Senate — a national-level consequence of a state-level runoff rule.
For legislative and regulatory lobbying, an extended runoff period means that relationships built or strained during the runoff campaign can shape the political environment legislators enter when they take office.
The 2026 Cycle
In 2026, runoffs could be triggered across all nine states wherever primaries or special elections produce split fields. Watch especially for:
- Georgia — where competitive legislative seats could see both primary and general election runoffs in the same cycle.
- Texas — where the March primary is followed by a May runoff window for races without a majority winner.
- Mississippi — where the new statewide general election runoff (2024+) may be triggered for the first time in a full election cycle with competitive races.
Our district pages flag when a specific race is subject to a runoff rule and note when a runoff has been triggered by the results.