UpVote Virginia Statement on Arlington County’s Ranked Choice Board Primary Election Results
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2024
Contact: Liz White
Hello@UpVoteVA.org
804-305-8050
Exit poll: 88% of Arlington voters say RCV is easy, 67% say they want to use it again
ARLINGTON, VA – Earlier today, the Arlington County Registrar’s Office announced the final results for the 2024 County Board Primary, declaring J.D. Spain as the winner of the preliminary results. Final results will be released tomorrow, with the only votes left to count being a nominal number of same-day registration provisional ballots.
This is the second time Arlington County has utilized Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in their local primaries for Board of Supervisors, and the first time since the Board voted unanimously to permanently adopt RCV for its primary elections moving forward.
Upon the announcement of the tabulation, Liz White, Executive Director of UpVote Virginia, released the below statement:
“Arlington’s successful election this week shows that RCV continues to have momentum in Virginia, and that voters benefit from a system that focuses on their needs.
We extend our appreciation to Arlington Director of Elections Gretchen Reinemeyer and her team who once again made the tabulation and reporting process transparent and efficient to the public.
Exit polling conducted by Exit Polling Strategies and released earlier today indicated that 88% of Arlington voters said that RCV is easy, and 67% said they would like to use it in future elections. Across all demographic groups, strong majorities say RCV is easy and that they’d like to use it in future elections.
White added, “As we have seen in RCV elections across the country: the more voters use it, the more they like it. This week was no exception.
Looking forward, we are confident that Arlington’s continued success will move other Virginia localities to follow their lead and adopt their own RCV programs in the future.”
Since the Virginia General Assembly’s bipartisan passage of HB1103 in 2021, RCV has been embraced by both parties in a variety of ways – from Republicans using it in their nomination contests for their 2021 statewide ticket and in subsequent Congressional primaries, to local Democratic committees using RCV several times for endorsements.
UpVote Virginia has worked with several other nonpartisan grassroots advocacy groups to educate the public and lobby on behalf of RCV across Virginia. In Arlington, these groups have included the Arlington County Civic Federation, the Arlington NAACP, FairVote, the League of Women Voters, RepresentUs, UU the Vote, and Veterans for All Voters.
UpVote Virginia is a registered 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating the voices of Virginia voters through nonpartisan education, advocacy, and grassroots engagement. As a democracy reform collective, UpVote Virginia focuses on multiple issues related to making our elections stronger and more equitable, including its first flagship issue: Ranked Choice Voting. Learn more at UpVoteVA.org.
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