I don't see that. I know I've "voted defensively" before, and I really don't like having to do it. I want to vote for those that I agree with, I don't want to

I don't see that. I know I've "voted defensively" before, and I really don't like having to do it. I want to vote for those that I agree with, I don't want to vote against those who I disagree with. It may seem like a small distinction, but if someone loves candidate A, but they are extremely unlikely to win, most will end up voting for B because they REALLY don't like C. That leads to A never getting in office until they become more like B. But with instant runoff, I'm free to know that I can vote for A first, and B second, and not worry that my support for A is implicit support for C. It not a perfect system, but IMO it's a lot better than what we have now in the US. Edit: another piece that I forgot to mention is that instant runoff can give more signals beyond the winners or losers. Currently you have no way outside of polling to understand what voters want, it leads to a vocal minority being able to control the narrative. With instant runoff, the runners can easily see that even though candidate A didn't win, they did get a sizeable number of votes, and maybe next time B runs, they will incorporate some of A's ideas into their campaign.