Group hopes to bring ranked choice voting to DC elections

WASHINGTON — The way you vote in certain D.C. elections could be changing in the future. A group hoping to bring Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) to the District dropped off petitions with around 40,000 signatures to D.C.'s Board of Elections on Monday.

The group called Make All Votes Count DC supports Initiative 83. The initiative would open up D.C.'s primary elections to voters who aren't registered with a specific party, and let voters rank their top five choices for each race.

Lisa D.T. Rice proposed the initiative. She's a D.C. native and a Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner.

“Such broad support of Initiative 83 across the District is not just empowering, but a clear sign that D.C. voters are hungry for more equitable and inclusive elections,” she said.

According to Fair Vote, a bipartisan nonprofit based in Takoma Park, RCV only works with more than three people on the ballot and a candidate must get more than 50% to win. 

With RCV, a voter ranks their candidates in order of preference. Ballots are counted in rounds. Round one focuses on everyone’s first choice pick. If a candidate doesn't get at least 50% of the vote, round two happens, with the lowest-ranked candidate being tossed out.

The ballots with that losing candidate still get counted again with a focus now on the voter's second choice. The process repeats itself until someone eventually reaches 50% to win the election. Voters in Arlington County already use RCV in some elections.

The 40,000 signatures delivered Monday were collected in all eight wards. 

The signatures are enough to get the issue on the ballot in November. If Initiative 83 passes, and is certified by the elections board, the new voting method would be used for the first time in 2026. 

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