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.

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.