Cara Brown McCormick
Virginia enacted legislation expanding ranked choice voting for local elections, after both chambers of the General Assembly voted April 22 to accept Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s technical amendments to SB 176 and HB 630, completing the bills’ path into law.
The new law makes Virginia’s local ranked choice voting program permanent and broadens it beyond city councils and county boards of supervisors to cover any local governing body, including towns.
The bills also direct the State Board of Elections to set standards for vote-tabulation software and other administrative rules tied to implementation.
"The bill's key provision is making RCV a permanent option for local elections in Virginia. (The bill I carried back in 2020 was a decade-long pilot program.)," said Sally Hudson, executive director of Ranked Choice Virginia.
"Arlington and Charlottesville have shown that Virginia is ready for ranked choice. The initial ranked choice elections in both communities have gone smoothly, with no technical challenges, and polling shows their voters want to keep better elections for the long haul. With the permanent option now in place, more communities across Virginia can follow their lead and give voters more options at the ballot box."
Charlottesville used ranked choice voting for the first time in 2025, and an exit survey showed 80% of respondents expressed strong support for its continued use. It is popular across age, race, gender, education level, and homeownership status.
“When voters finally get to use ranked choice voting, they get it, they like it, and they want to do it again,” said Hudson.
Arlington County, the first jurisdiction in Virginia to use ranked choice voting, also continues to support its use, and other areas – like Newport News and Loudoun County – have signaled they are looking into the reform as well.
The change is set to take effect on July 1, 2026, giving local governments a standing option to adopt ranked choice voting in future elections.
