(CNN) Maine voters will conduct a groundbreaking democratic experiment on Tuesday when they use, for the first time in the nation, ranked choice voting in statewide primaries.

The consequences of Maine's experiment could be momentous, with the potential to change campaigns, enliven third-party candidacies, and if successful, serve as proof-of-concept for the system at scale.

The system was adopted through a voter referendum in 2016 and has survived a series of legal challenges in the intervening years, while emerging as a flashpoint in the state's politics.

Here's how it works , according to the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, which helped campaign for the referendum:

"Ranked choice voting gives you the power to rank candidates from your favorite to your least favorite. On Election Night, all the ballots are counted for voters' first choices. If one candidate receives an outright majority, he or she wins. If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate with the fewest first choices is eliminated and voters who liked that candidate the best have their ballots instantly counted for their second choice. This process repeats and last-place candidates lose until one candidate reaches a majority and wins. Your vote counts for your second choice only if your first choice has been eliminated."

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