Tell Your Legislator: Time to rethink local elections in Virginia
As our recent op‑ed points out, Virginia voters face a pivotal election season—not just for statewide and legislative seats, but in a multitude of contested local races, many featuring three or more candidates. These contests threaten to fragment the vote, potentially electing winners with only a slim plurality—not a true majority.
But there’s a hopeful exception: the Arlington County Board race. This will be the only race in November with 3+ candidates that can ensure a winner with support from the majority of voters, and it’s because they have adopted ranked choice voting.
Under ranked choice voting, voters rank the candidates they like by preference (first, second, third, and so on). If no candidate wins a majority of first choice votes, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated, and those votes reallocate to voters’ next choices. This process continues in rounds until someone earns more than 50 percent.
Why RCV Should Be Allowed Across Virginia’s Localities
Current Virginia law gives cities and counties the option to adopt RCV to elect their city councils and county boards. So far, only Arlington and Charlottesville have done so, but there are many others (such as Fredericksburg, Loudoun, Richmond, and Newport News) that have taken steps to explore the option. Many localities, however, even if they’re interested in RCV, feel limited by the narrow scope of the law.
The General Assembly will consider legislation in the 2026 session that would expand the local RCV option to include all local offices—mayor, school board, and constitutional offices —empowering communities to choose RCV in ways that make sense for them.
Tell Your Legislators: Let Localities Choose RCV in 2026
UpVote and our pro-RCV coalition will urge the General Assembly:
Enact legislation in 2026 to expand RCV options for localities, formally granting localities the authority to adopt ranked‑choice voting for any local or constitutional office.
Emphasize flexibility: local governments know their communities best. Whether it's a small town council or a diverse county board, RCV should be a tool in their civic toolbox.
Support voter education alongside RCV implementation. Arlington and Charlottesville show that this makes a real difference: most voters adapt quickly and favor RCV after experiencing it.
Majority Rule for Every Voter
More and more people are stepping up to run for office, and this should be unqualified good news. More candidates in a race means more perspectives, more ideas, and more brainpower focused on solving the problems we face. But Virginia’s elections are at risk of yielding winners supported by only a small fraction of the electorate. RCV offers a solution: it ensures majority support, incentives coalition building, and yields more representative outcomes.
It’s time to let localities choose RCV as they see fit, through legislation in the 2026 session. It's time for majority‑supported leadership, at every level.
By embracing RCV, Virginia can make democracy fairer, more inclusive, and more responsive.
