| C > E > A > D > F > B > G |
| G > B > D > E > C > F > A |
| A > F > C > G > D > B > E |
| B > F > C > D > A > E > G |
| B > E > D > F > A > G > C |
| B > D > E > C > A > G > F |
| B > C > A > F > G > D > E |
| C > B > G > A > E > D > F |
| D > F > B > E > C > G > A |
| F > B > G > E > A > D > C |
| D > A > E > G > F > B > C |
| A > B > D > G > E > C > F |
| B > E > D > G > C > F > A |
| F > B > D > A > G > C > E |
| D > A > B > E > C > F > G |
| A > B > G > C > D > F > E |
| D > E > F > G > A > C > B |
| A > F > D > B > C > E > G |
| A > D > E > G > B > C > F |
| B > C > G > E > A > D > F |
| G > E > C > F > B > A > D |
| A > B > F > C > G > E > D |
| E > F > A > B > D > C > G |
| B > E > G > F > D > C > A |
| B > A > E > D > C > F > G |
| A > B > F > D > G > C > E |
| A > C > B > E > G > F > D |
| E > B > D > F > A > G > C |
| C > B > E > A > G > F > D |
| E > F > B > D > G > C > A |
| E > A > C > G > B > D > F |
| B > D > C > G > F > A > E |
| F > C > G > D > B > E > A |
| F > A > G > D > B > C > E |
| E > G > F > C > B > D > A |
| G > C > E > B > D > A > F |
| E > G > B > C > D > A > F |
The Instant Runoff (IRV) election at left has 7 candidates named A,B,C,D,E,F,G. We chose "7" since that was precisely the mean number who ran for Australian House seats (each elected with IRV) in 2007. Each line of the table is a single ballot. There are 37 voters (and hence 37 lines in the table). We chose "37" since it is a prime number, i.e. presumably less likely to yield ties, and also since that makes the table just fit on 1 page. This is a "random" 37×7 election example, not a "contrived" example: each of the 37 votes here is an independent random ordering of the 7 candidates (all orderings equally likely), namely the first 37 outputs of my random-perm generator. The election proceeds as follows:
1. G eliminated (after breaking a tie with C via a coin toss).
2. F eliminated (after breaking a 3-way tie with C and D).
3. D eliminated.
4. C eliminated.
5. E eliminated.
6. A eliminated.
7. B wins! [Incidentally, this particular election happens to be an "easy call" in the sense that essentially every election method ever seriously proposed, would elect B. Sorry to be boring.]
The red parts of each ballot are ignored by the IRV process. It never looks at the red stuff, and whatever the voters wrote on those parts of their ballots is completely irrelevant as far as IRV is concerned.
In this election IRV effectively forced 17 of the 37 voters (46%) to vote in plain plurality style, since everything beyond their first choice was ignored. Only 5 voters got to say more than their first two choices (13.5%; well, actually everybody got to say their entire ordering, but for 86.5% of the voters, everything they said beyond choice #2 was ignored).