Virginian Pilot Column: Ranked choice voting is Virginia’s next voting rights chapter

The Virginian-Pilot | March 23, 2025
By Tamara Allen

When we talk about voting rights in Virginia, we often focus on who gets to vote. The General Assembly’s ongoing work to amend the Constitution to automatically restore the voting rights of formerly incarcerated individuals marks a crucial step forward in making our democracy more inclusive.

But we must also consider how we vote. As someone who grew up watching family members lose their voting rights due to a system that prioritized punishment over rehabilitation, I understand deeply that every aspect of our voting system — from registration to the method of counting ballots — impacts who has a real voice in our democracy.

That’s why I believe ranked-choice voting (RCV) represents the next frontier in voting rights. Just as rights restoration gives voice to those previously excluded from our democracy, RCV gives all voters more power to express their true preferences and elect leaders who genuinely represent their communities.

I’ve seen firsthand how our voting system can silence diverse voices and perspectives. In communities like mine, people have great ambitions to become business owners, academics and creatives, but often have to prioritize providing basic necessities for their families because of a lack of resources and unresolved challenges they face.

We need elected officials who truly understand our challenges — from food deserts to inadequate transportation, environmental justice to unemployment. Too often, candidates who deeply understand these issues don’t run for office, believing they can’t win in a system that favors candidates with establishment backing.

RCV changes this dynamic. Allowing voters to rank multiple candidates creates space for non-traditional candidates who bring different life experiences and perspectives to the table. When voters can rank their choices instead of picking just one, candidates are required to build broader coalitions and speak to the concerns of the entire community — not just their base. This is particularly important in communities of color, where multiple candidates who connect with different segments of voters can run without fear of “splitting the vote.”

The evidence backs this up. Research shows that people of color are more likely to be elected under RCV systems. In cities using RCV, we’ve seen more diverse candidates run and win, bringing fresh perspectives, younger candidates and different lived experiences to local government. This matters because representation matters. It expands our vision of what leadership and civic engagement can look like.

Some claim RCV is “too complicated,” particularly for communities of color and low-income voters. But this argument only reinforces negative stereotypes about our communities, and there are many examples of its factual inaccuracies. Voters in places such as Eastpointe, Michigan, for example, have shown that RCV can successfully engage Black voters and strengthen their voice in local government. We rank choices every day in our lives — from Netflix shows to lunch options. Ranking candidates on a ballot is no different.

Virginia has already taken a significant step by allowing localities to adopt RCV pilot programs. Just as our commonwealth led the way in strengthening voting rights, we can lead in modernizing how we vote. The movement for voting rights has always been about ensuring that every voice counts and every vote matters. RCV advances this cause by ensuring that winning candidates have broad support across the community, not just a narrow base of supporters

As we celebrate progress such as automatic rights restoration, let’s recognize that the fight for a more equitable democracy continues. Supporting RCV isn’t just about changing how we count votes — it’s about creating a voting system that gives real power to historically marginalized communities. It’s about ensuring that when formerly incarcerated individuals regain their right to vote, they can use that vote to its fullest potential by ranking candidates who understand their experiences and will fight for their communities.

For those of us committed to voting rights and racial justice, supporting RCV is a natural extension of our fight for a democracy that truly represents all voices.

Tamara Allen of Portsmouth is the programs director for UpVote Virginia, a nonpartisan democracy reform group dedicated to making our elections stronger and more equitable.