Ranked choice voting is coming to D.C. — whether these two council members like it or not.
At-Large Council member Anita Bonds and Council member Wendell Felder, of Ward 7, argued for an emergency measure to delay the rollout of ranked choice voting until 2027, on Tuesday.
During the public council meeting, Bonds and Felder argued that the D.C. Board of Elections lacks both the time and a finalized plan to properly implement the system ahead of a June deadline
“I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this matter, to provide the board of elections with the opportunity to successfully implement ranked choice voting by affording them more time” Bonds said.
Bonds made it clear that she doesn’t want to stop ranked choice voice from being established.
“The emergency that I’m presenting … does not litigate whether ranked choice voting should or should not be used in the District, as it is perfectly clear that Initiative 83 was passed by the D.C. electorate in 2024, election year, and therefore you and I expect this implementation in the District,” Bonds said.
She did however, question if the public and the D.C. Board of Elections have the ability to assure a fair and equal election in 2026.
“The question before us … is, when can it be implemented with accuracy and assurance that the public has received adequate training to understand not just how to mark one’s ballot for one or more candidates by ranking one choice, but equally important is how will one’s votes be tallied?”” Bonds asked the board.
Felder said that there hasn’t been enough public outreach and education on how ranked choice voting works.
“Residents continue to be confused and concerned … about the lack of clarity around how ranked choice voting works, or the rules around their vote and how they will be counted,” he said.
The lack of community engagement, Felder expressed, could disproportionately impact marginalized voters.
“I am especially concerned about communities who have been historically disenfranchised, including our seniors, individuals with limited English proficiency and our returning citizens,” Felder said. “For example, Wards 3, 4 and 5 have the highest number of seniors in the city. But yet, as of today, there’s been no targeted outreach or to really focus on that population.”
At-Large Council member Christina Henderson argued that Bonds and Felder were misrepresenting the board of elections’ ability to roll out ranked choice voting. She said they were misconstruing the 2024 testimony about election readiness from the Board of Elections Executive Director Monica Evans.
“Using director Evans’ statements out of context to suggest that implementation of RCV (ranked choice voting) is somehow, quote, unquote ‘dangerous,’ is disingenuous to attempt to delay the will of the voters,” Henderson said.
The measure failed 8-5.
District residents will be able to use ranked choice during the June primary in which a new mayor and at least three new council members will be chosen.
It allows voters to rank candidates in order of their preference, instead of picking just one. So, if your first choice doesn’t win, your vote will count toward your second choice. The first candidate to reach a 50% majority wins.
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