Ranked Choice Voting Legislation Advances in Virginia Senate

Richmond, VA — Legislation that would expand local authority to conduct ranked choice elections cleared its first committee vote today. The bill (SB1009) would allow Virginia cities, counties, and towns to use ranked choice voting (RCV) in elections for all local offices. The measure passed the Senate Privileges and Elections Committee on an 8-7 vote with Senators Carroll Foy, Deeds, Ebbin, Perry, Rouse, Salim, Srinivasan, and VanValkenburg voting to advance the bill.

The proposal builds on successful ranked choice pilots in Arlington, which has used RCV to elect its County Board since 2023. Arlington's elections have sparked growing interest in ranked choice voting across Virginia, with Charlottesville set to use RCV this June and Albemarle, Fairfax City, and Newport News all exploring adoption.

Under current law, localities may only use ranked choice in elections for city councils and county boards, and many of the local leaders exploring adoption have expressed their desire to use RCV uniformly for all their local offices. SB1009 would expand local authority to conduct ranked choice elections to include mayors, school board, and town councils, too.

The legislation now heads to the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee for review. While the committee must evaluate potential fiscal impacts, a similar proposal in 2024 was found to have no budget implications for the state. If approved by the Finance Committee, the bill will then go to the Senate floor for a vote of the full body ahead of the February 4 crossover deadline for all Senate bills.