diff --git a/etcdserver/raft.go b/etcdserver/raft.go
index 9695da80ea5e..40afbb9ce2f6 100644
--- a/etcdserver/raft.go
+++ b/etcdserver/raft.go
@@ -370,16 +370,6 @@ func (r *raftNode) resumeSending() {
 	p.Resume()
 }
 
-// advanceTicksForElection advances ticks to the node for fast election.
-// This reduces the time to wait for first leader election if bootstrapping the whole
-// cluster, while leaving at least 1 heartbeat for possible existing leader
-// to contact it.
-func advanceTicksForElection(n raft.Node, electionTicks int) {
-	for i := 0; i < electionTicks-1; i++ {
-		n.Tick()
-	}
-}
-
 func startNode(cfg ServerConfig, cl *membership.RaftCluster, ids []types.ID) (id types.ID, n raft.Node, s *raft.MemoryStorage, w *wal.WAL) {
 	var err error
 	member := cl.MemberByName(cfg.Name)
@@ -417,7 +407,6 @@ func startNode(cfg ServerConfig, cl *membership.RaftCluster, ids []types.ID) (id
 	raftStatusMu.Lock()
 	raftStatus = n.Status
 	raftStatusMu.Unlock()
-	advanceTicksForElection(n, c.ElectionTick)
 	return id, n, s, w
 }
 
@@ -451,7 +440,6 @@ func restartNode(cfg ServerConfig, snapshot *raftpb.Snapshot) (types.ID, *member
 	raftStatusMu.Lock()
 	raftStatus = n.Status
 	raftStatusMu.Unlock()
-	advanceTicksForElection(n, c.ElectionTick)
 	return id, cl, n, s, w
 }
 
diff --git a/etcdserver/server.go b/etcdserver/server.go
index 5bd489c12da5..f2c1b56ce704 100644
--- a/etcdserver/server.go
+++ b/etcdserver/server.go
@@ -302,6 +302,7 @@ func NewServer(cfg ServerConfig) (srv *EtcdServer, err error) {
 		snapshot *raftpb.Snapshot
 	)
 
+	restart := false
 	switch {
 	case !haveWAL && !cfg.NewCluster:
 		if err = cfg.VerifyJoinExisting(); err != nil {
@@ -390,6 +391,7 @@ func NewServer(cfg ServerConfig) (srv *EtcdServer, err error) {
 		cfg.Print()
 		if !cfg.ForceNewCluster {
 			id, cl, n, s, w = restartNode(cfg, snapshot)
+			restart = true
 		} else {
 			id, cl, n, s, w = restartAsStandaloneNode(cfg, snapshot)
 		}
@@ -521,9 +523,54 @@ func NewServer(cfg ServerConfig) (srv *EtcdServer, err error) {
 	}
 	srv.r.transport = tr
 
+	activePeers := 0
+	for _, m := range cl.Members() {
+		if m.ID != id {
+			if tr.IsActive(m.ID) {
+				activePeers++
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	clusterN := len(cl.Members())
+	plog.Infof("%s has %d active peers among %d found member(s)", srv.ID(), activePeers, clusterN)
+
+	// only advance ticks iif
+	//   1. starting to fresh cluster (restart == false)
+	//   AND
+	//   2-1. single-node cluster (no peer to wait for)
+	//   OR
+	//   2-2. no active peer connection has been established
+	//        (e.g. node that starts very first out of 3-node)
+	if !restart && (clusterN == 1 || activePeers == 0) {
+		// save one tick; leader may heartbeat before timeout
+		tick := cfg.ElectionTicks - 1
+		plog.Infof("%s is advancing %d ticks for faster election (election tick %d)", srv.ID(), tick, cfg.ElectionTicks)
+		advanceTicksForElection(n, tick)
+	} else {
+		// on restart, there is likely an active peer already
+		// with an active leader; adjust ticks to lower value
+		// in case leader heartbeats arrive, thus preventing
+		// disruptive elections
+		tick := cfg.ElectionTicks / 10 // default election tick is 10 (1s)
+		plog.Infof("%s is advancing %d ticks (election tick %d)", srv.ID(), tick, cfg.ElectionTicks)
+		advanceTicksForElection(n, tick)
+	}
 	return srv, nil
 }
 
+// advanceTicksForElection advances ticks to the node
+// for fast election. This reduces the time to wait
+// for first leader election if bootstrapping the whole
+// cluster (especially cross data-center deployments),
+// while leaving a few heartbeats for possible existing
+// leader to contact it.
+func advanceTicksForElection(n raft.Node, ticks int) {
+	for i := 0; i < ticks; i++ {
+		n.Tick()
+	}
+}
+
 // Start performs any initialization of the Server necessary for it to
 // begin serving requests. It must be called before Do or Process.
 // Start must be non-blocking; any long-running server functionality