FRedericksburg CITY

Get involved locally!

Fredericksburg City Council has started conversations about whether they should implement ranked choice voting (RCV) for their future election. Using RCV for local elections rewards candidates who are able to build consensus and allows voters to more fully express their preferences.

Ranked choice voting is a better way to run local elections. Tell your City Council member that you support RCV and encourage them to take action.

Not sure who your member of Council is? Find out here.

Tell City Council that RCV:

  • Ensures that the winner has support from the majority of voters.

  • Promotes candidates who build consensus.

  • Is very popular and easy-to-understand in cities and states that use it.

  • Has a proven track record of being beneficial to people of color and women seeking public office.

Ranked Choice Voting in Fredericksburg

HB1103 allows Virginia localities to adopt Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for their City Council elections. Learn more about RCV here.

LOCAL MEDIA:

Free Lance-Star Column by Daniel P. Cortez

Free Lance-Star LTE by Nancy Colllins

LOCAL PROGRESS:

City Council held a work session on RCV on October 25.

At the request of City Council, the City Attorney and City manager provided an updated assessment of the city’s readiness to implement Ranked Choice Voting for City Council elections. This was dated Feb. 21, 2023.

TL;DR: due to progress from the State Board of Elections, the cost and difficulty for Fredericksburg to implement RCV is much lower than they originally thought. Conversations between the City Council and the Board of Elections are ongoing, but RCV will not be used for any elections in 2023.

LOCALITY OVERVIEW

GOVERNING BODY: City Council

NUMBER OF MEMBERS: 7

The seven-member legislative body known as the City Council is composed of a Mayor and six council members. The Mayor and two Council members are elected at-large and the remaining four Council members are each elected to represent one of four wards.

Council members and the Mayor serve four-year, staggered terms with elections held every two years, in November.  In 2021 elections changed from a May election to a November election timeframe. Ward representatives were elected in November 2021.  

Meet City Council