Ranked Choice Voting in Central Virginia
Thursday, March 20th, 2025
Sally Hudson is the founder of Ranked Choice Virginia and former Delegate representing Charlottesville in the General Assembly. In that role, Dr. Hudson authored the legislation that allows Virginia cities and counties to use ranked choice voting (RCV).
We learned that Arlington County has had RCV in two elections, with positive responses from candidates and voters. Charlottesville will use RCV for the June 17th City Council primary election. Albemarle County is considering RCV for this year’s Board of Supervisors election, as is Falls Church and Loudon County. The Virginia Republican party has used ranked choice ballots at conventions to nominate candidates for statewide offices and three Congressional districts…Fourth, Tenth and Eleventh.
Beyond Virginia, Alaska and Maine use RCV in all of their state and federal elections. In addition, more than 50 cities and counties use RCV in local elections, from big cities like New York City and Minneapolis to small towns in Utah, Colorado, and Vermont. In 2024, DC voters overwhelming supported a ballot measure to adopt RCV for their elections, too.
RCV can be easily used in an election seeking one winner… or an election seeking multiple winners… like the Charlottesville City Council.
RCV allows each voter to show their preference for each candidate. The benefits: Voters get real choices. Candidates run better campaigns. Communities get representative leaders.
The main cost of using RCV is voter education. The current election equipment is already compatible with RCV.
Dr Hudson provided an opportunity for the 40 attendees to experience RCV as they shared their opinions on 5 top local issues: education construction, housing, natural resources, public safety and transportation.
To learn more… and see examples… visit rankedchoiceva.org