Legislative session update - RCV

Image of the Senate voting board, showing SB176 passing with 21 yea votes and 19 nay votes.

Last week, SB176, a bill that would extend the option for local adoption of ranked choice voting to town councils AND make the option permanent, passed the Senate! 

A big thank you to our patron, Sen. Schuyler VanValkenburg, as well as our co-patrons - Sen. Jennifer Carroll Foy, Sen. Adam Ebbin, Sen. Stella Pekarsky, Sen. Saddam Salim, and Sen. Kannan Srinivasan. 

The identical companion bill in the House of Delegates (HB630) has not yet been put on the agenda for the Election Administration Subcommittee, but we have over 20 co-patrons and are working hard to make sure it passes! 

Meanwhile, it's not too late to email your legislators with our easy advocacy tool. This bill is a narrow expansion to current law, but it's a step toward more localities adopting RCV and learning about its potential here in the Commonwealth.