Charlottesville Could Become Second City in Virginia to Adopt Ranked Choice Voting

Charlottesville VA
Photo by Bob Mical on Flickr
Created: 16 Aug, 2024
Updated: 20 Aug, 2024
1 min read

Photo Credit: Bob Mical / Flickr

 

The Charlottesville City Council will consider a draft ordinance on Monday, August 19, that if approved would authorize the city's political parties to use ranked choice voting (RCV) in council primaries.

Charlottesville would become the second city in Virginia to use RCV after Arlington used it for the first time in 2023. The Arlington board voted in December to continue using it in primaries. 

Sally Hudson of Ranked Choice Virginia provided IVN with the news of the Charlottesville RCV ordinance, including a quote from the city registrar, who recommended the city council adopt it in a memo:

"Ranked choice voting has been successfully adopted in various localities and states across the nation and has been shown by research to support more diverse candidate pools and improved civility in campaigns and elections."

The Charlottesville City Council will not vote on approving the ordinance Monday. It will be the first of two required public readings. According to Hudson, the second reading, if councilmembers advance it, and final passage are expected on Tuesday, September 3.

Ranked Choice Virginia circulated a petition among city voters and got more than 250 signatures. 

 

More Choice for San Diego

Update 8/19/24: The Charlottesville City Council voted unanimously Monday to advance the RCV ordinance to a second reading and potential final approval vote on Tuesday, September 3.

In this article

Related articles

Votes
MERGER: The Organization that Brought Ranked Choice Voting and Ended SuperPACs in Maine Joins California’s Nonpartisan Primary Pioneers
Photo by . Today, I am proud to share an exciting milestone in my journey as an advocate for democra...
23 Jan, 2025
-
12 min read
Paper ballots next to ballot box.
Iowa May Become Latest State to Ban Ranked Choice Voting
Photo by  Monday marked the kickoff of the 2025 legislative session in the Iowa General Assembly. Ho...
13 Jan, 2025
-
1 min read
Justin Trudeau
On His Way Out, Trudeau Says He Regrets Not Implementing Ranked Choice Voting
Photo under creative license ...
07 Jan, 2025
-
2 min read

Latest articles

Votes
MERGER: The Organization that Brought Ranked Choice Voting and Ended SuperPACs in Maine Joins California’s Nonpartisan Primary Pioneers
The Chamberlain Project, an organization I co-founded with Peter Ackerman a decade ago, has been dissolved. The Chamberlain Boards have voted to combine all of Chamberlain’s associated entities, including Americans Elect, Level the Playing Field, the Committee for Ranked Choice Voting, and Citizens to End SuperPACs, with the Foundation for Independent Voter Education (FIVE),...
23 Jan, 2025
-
12 min read
press badges and credentials
To Help Heal Division, We Must Cut "The Media" Some Slack
Donald Trump will be inaugurated in a few days. In his second term, just as in his first, he’ll likely spark passionate disagreements about news media: what is “fake news” and what isn’t, which media sources should be trusted and which should be doubted....
23 Jan, 2025
-
4 min read
American flag on a bridge.
'We the People' Must Take Action to Address Our Colossal Challenges
Long before I moved to the United States from rural Greece and ever heard the phrase “we the people,” I grew up with a constant and clear illustration of the power of community. Although “we the people” wasn’t a phrase that translated into Greek, it was one of the cornerstones of Greek society....
23 Jan, 2025
-
4 min read