The whole idea is that you can have your cake and eat it. You can vote with your heart for the candidate you like best and then vote with your head to keep the candidate you dislike out of office. In a recent example of the 2000 Presidential Race you could have voted for Ralph Nader without the fear of letting George Bush in, which is of course exactly what happened
In the voting booth you get to list the candidates in order of preference. You would have given Ralph Nader #1, and recognising that he was unlikely to win, you would have given your #2 preference to Al Gore. Neither candidate has a majority, Ralph Nader is eliminated along with your #1 preference and so your number #2 preference is turned into a vote for Al Gore who probably would have had enough to win. Note you still only get one vote.
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IRV would really solve the dilemma of "splitting the vote." It's already used in Minneapolis, San Francisco, Australia, and elsewhere, and it's coming soon to New York City and the UK Parliament! http://www.fairvote.org/instant-runoff-voting
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