DC Holds First RCV Election June 16

Washington, D.C., Holds its First Election using Ranked-Choice-Voting (RCV) on 6/16.2026, joining Three States and Three of the 100 Largest Cities in the Country that use or are scheduled to use the system.

D.C. Voters will use the System in the Democratic Primaries for Mayor, Delegate to the U.S. House, Four D.C. Council Seats, and an Independent Special Election to Fill an At-Large Council Seat. D.C. Only uses RCV when there are Three or more Candidates on the Ballot, so the System will Not be used in any Republican Primaries.

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 FirstPpreference Votes is Eliminated, and their Votes are Transferred to the Voters’ Second-Choice Candidate. This Process continues until a Candidate receives aMmajority of the Vote.

In 2024, D.C. Voters Approved a Ballot Measure 73% to 27%, that Authorized the use of RCV Starting in 2026. In 12/2025, the D.C. Council Rejected an Effort to Delay the Implementation of RCV until 2027. Beyond 6/16/2026 Primary, the D.C. will also use RCV for Presidential Elections, as well as other Local Offices, including Board of Education Members, Attorney General, and Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners.

Washington, D.C., a Federal District rather than a City or State, will be the Fourth most Populous Local Jurisdiction that Currently uses RCV or is Scheduled to do so, after New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle. Nationally, at least 39 Cities or Counties use or are Scheduled to use RCV.

Ashtabula, Ohio, became the First Locality in the U.S. to use RCV, starting in 1915. Other Cities, including Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York City, and Sacramento, followed suit, during the 1920s and 1930s. At least 15 Cities were using RCV by 1947.

Beginning in the late 1940s, however, Cities began to Repeal their use of RCV. At least 53 Localities across the Country have Stopped using RCV, after previously aAopting it, though some Ccities, like New York, later Resumed its use. According to Georgetown University’s Jack Santucci, Cambridge, Massachusetts, was the Only City in the U.S. using RCV by the Early 1960s.

Interest in RCV rose again in the 2000s, with San Francisco Adopting the System in 2002 and Minneapolis beginning to use RCV in 2006. Supporters of the Change Argued it would Improve Voter Turnout and Reduce the Expense of Runoff Elections, while Opponents Argued it would Delay Election Results and Confuse Voters. New York City, the Largest Locality in the U.S. to use RCV, adopted it in 2019.

Beyond the Local Level, three States: Alaska, Hawaii, and Maine, use RCV for at least some Statewide or Federal Elections. Nineteen States have Laws Prohibiting or Restricting the use of RCV. During my time of 12 years as an Elected Official in NYC, I was part of the RCV Effort in the U.S.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker