Update on Ranked-Choice Voting in D.C.

By: Miriam Edelman

The D.C. Council is in the midst of funding the ranked-choice voting (RCV) part of Initiative 83. This post follow ups on DCNOW’s blog pieces, including “Initiative 83 is Law.”

The D.C. Council tries to pay for the RCV section through the B26-0260 - Fiscal Year 2026 Local Budget Act of 2025 (D.C.’s budget). D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson had said that there is no money for implementation of that initiative. However, D.C. Councilmembers Brianne Nadeau and Christina Henderson introduced an amendment to finance the RCV section. The amendment’s rationale is:

“This amendment would fund the ranked choice voting fiscal impact of the “Ranked Choice Voting and Open the Primary Elections to Independent Voters Act of 2024”, commonly referred to as I-83. District voters overwhelmingly supported I-83 in November 2024. While the entire initiative should be implemented, at this time we have identified funding sufficient to fully fund ranked choice voting over the financial plan.”

The D.C. Council passed the amendment by a vote of eight Yes and four No. Meanwhile, the D.C. Council did not fund Initiative 83’s other section, which would permit independents to vote in party primary elections. The D.C. Council moved the budget bill forward.

This vote does not mean that RCV will actually come to the nation’s capital. There will be at least a final vote on the budget on July 28^th. Then, the bill would go to the desk of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser. Then, D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson would submit the local part of the budget to Congress for review.

D.C. should fund and implement RCV, which would greatly improve D.C.’s elections. No longer would D.C. Councilmembers win with much less than a majority of the vote.