Virginian-Pilot Guest Column: Ranked choice voting elevates all Virginians’ voices

By Liz White, Guest Columnist | Dec 13, 2022

It seems like every day there are news stories about how our representative democracy is failing voters. There’s polarization, legislative gridlock and no incentive for lawmakers to come together to solve tough problems.

Exit polling from November’s midterms reflects this, with two-thirds of voters believing that American democracy is either “somewhat” or “very” threatened.

But in Virginia, we’re writing another story. Voters are standing up and affecting change by focusing on foundational, nonpartisan solutions that improve our democratic systems.

In recent years, Virginia expanded access to absentee ballots, instituted automatic voter registration and established what experts agree are among the fairest legislative maps in America. These issues don’t benefit one party over another — they benefit voters.

The proof is in the pudding: The nonpartisan Virginia Public Access Project estimates that 1 million Virginians took advantage of expanded early voting this year, projecting that more voters participated in 2022 than in any other midterm without a Senate race on the ballot. This is tangible evidence that voters participate more when public policy puts them front and center.

I am the executive director of UpVote Virginia, a nonpartisan democracy reform collective dedicated to elevating the voices of voters through education, advocacy and grassroots engagement. Since our launch in August, we have focused on the fastest-growing electoral reform in America: ranked-choice voting (RCV).

Instead of choosing one candidate, RCV allows voters to rank preferences: first, second, third, etc. In races with more than two people on the ballot, this creates an instant runoff, eliminating the lowest-ranked candidate and counting the second-choice votes instead. The winner is declared when a candidate receives over 50% of the vote. The majority rules.

In recent years, RCV has gained momentum across the country, and data shows that voters find it easy to understand and feel more represented. The system benefits candidates who build a broad coalition of support through outreach, nuance and consensus.

In Virginia, both parties have embraced RCV — with 98.7% of Democratic state legislators supporting it in 2020 and the Republican Party of Virginia using it for their 2021 statewide nominating elections.

Even longtime political rivals have found common ground to support RCV, with Democratic Congressman Don Beyer joining former Republican Gov. George Allen in support of RCV at a recent UpVote Virginia forum. It’s not often those two speak at the same events, but that encapsulates how broad RCV’s appeal can be.

I think it’s in the commonwealth’s best interest to build on this momentum, and our organization sees two opportunities to expand on RCV moving forward.

First, we will work to take further advantage of House Bill 1103, which was passed with bipartisan support in the state legislature in 2020, giving municipalities the option to implement RCV pilot programs for local governing bodies.

Arlington recently became the first Virginia locality to endorse this program for its county board primaries, and there is momentum growing for similar implementation in Albemarle, Charlottesville, Fredericksburg and Norfolk.

Second, we support legislation in Virginia’s upcoming General Assembly session that gives Virginia’s Democratic and Republican parties the option to opt into RCV for presidential primaries.

These races typically draw a large number of candidates, forcing many voters to cast their ballots strategically, instead of expressing their honest preferences. Even worse, more than 42,000 Virginians have had their votes wasted in the last two presidential cycles, because their candidate had already withdrawn by the time their early ballots were counted. That’s more than four times the capacity of Hampton Coliseum.

Even in a time when the electorate is so divided, ranked-choice voting is one way to mitigate this cynicism and truly elevate the voice of the voters. It is a straightforward change to the ballot that enables a better voter experience, better campaigns and ultimately, better government.

Liz White is the executive director of UpVote Virginia, a nonpartisan democracy reform group dedicated to making our elections stronger and more equitable.