Washington, D.C., will hold its first election using ranked-choice voting on June 16, in primary elections for mayor, city council, U.S. House delegate, and other races.
Ranked-choice voting (RCV) is a system where voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. In the RCV system used in D.C., a candidate who wins a majority of first-preference votes is the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the voters’ second-choice candidate. This process continues until a candidate receives a majority of the vote.
In 2024, D.C. voters approved a ballot measure 73%-27% that authorized the use of RCV starting in 2026. In December, the D.C. Council rejected an effort to delay the implementation of RCV until 2027.
