Charlottesville, VA — Next Monday, August 19, Charlottesville City Council will consider a draft ordinance that would authorize parties to use ranked-choice voting in next year's Council primaries. The City Registrar recommends adoption in a memo to Council:
"Ranked choice voting has been successfully adopted in various localities and states across the nation and has been shown by research to support more diverse candidate pools and improved civility in campaigns and elections."
If the measure passes, Charlottesville would become the second locality in Virginia to use ranked-choice voting for local elections, following Arlington's first use in 2023. Charlottesville voters would use ranked-choice voting to nominate candidates for two open Council seats in the June 2025 primary.
Monday's Council meeting will mark the first of two required public readings for the ordinance. The second hearing and final passage are expected at the Tuesday, September 3 Council meeting. More than 250 City residents have signed a petition supporting the measure through Ranked Choice Virginia.
Recent local news coverage can be found through NBC29 and C-VILLE Weekly.
