Less than a month before the Nov. 5 general election, there is still public debate about Initiative 83, a ballot proposal for ranked-choice voting (RCV), and opening the primary elections to independent voters.
While some feel ranked-choice voting will be more inclusive of D.C. residents, others contend RCV will be a confusing and problematic process for District voters and politics.
With ranked-choice voting, voters may rank up to five candidates by preference. After every voter’s first-choice vote is counted, the candidate receiving the fewest votes will be eliminated. Each voter’s ballot will count for the remaining candidate the voter has ranked highest until one candidate wins with a majority of the votes.
“Ranked-choice voting is a proven system in which the voter chooses their favorite candidate and ranks their backups. If your favorite doesn’t win, your vote counts for your next choice, until a candidate wins with more than 50%. This means politicians must work harder for every vote and every voter, not just for a small group,” said Lisa Rice, who initiated the ranked-choice voting ballot. “I proposed Initiative 83 to put voters first, to hold politicians accountable to us, and make them work hard for our votes.”
The initiative would also permit independent voters, who choose not to align with a certain political party, to vote in primary elections.
“Currently over 75,000 DC voters are disenfranchised, and barred from voting in D.C.’s taxpayer-funded primary elections,” Rice told The Informer. “That’s unfair. Most members of our [D.C. Council] are not elected by a majority of voters in the primaries — D.C.’s definitive elections. That must change. Politicians should be accountable to a majority of voters.”
Some independent D.C. residents are excited about this potential change.
Damon Thomas, a Ward 7 resident released from prison a year ago and now an outreach specialist at the National Reentry Network for Returning Citizens organization, expressed disappointment in currently not being able to vote due to his independent status.
“I spent 28 years incarcerated, so I’m 50 now, and so this would have been my first time voting … so I haven’t been familiar with the voting process,” Thomas explained. “That is why I was so excited to come home — to be able to be a part of the system — only to find out that I wouldn’t be able to be part of the voting process here in D.C. because I am registered as independent.”
The District has many voters like Thomas, who can’t make their voices heard at the ballots during primaries.
In 2022, there were 499,789 total registered voters in the District, with 383,276 registered Democrats, 26,714 registered Republicans, 82,177 independents, and 7,621 registered with other parties.
Ranked-choice voting is used in various cities, including Takoma Park, Maryland; Arlington, Virginia; Oakland, California; and Santa Fe, New Mexico. The application of ranked-choice voting varies by location. For instance, Takoma Park employs ranked-choice voting for mayoral and city council elections, while Virginia uses it for primary elections.
Other states such as Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon have ranked-choice voting on the ballot for the upcoming general election.
If passed, ranked-choice voting and opening the primary elections to independent voters would start in the District’s 2026 election cycle.
“We all pay for the elections. We should all be able to vote in them. Rice declared. “Ranked-choice voting has helped preserve Black elected representation in the face of displacement. Cities that use ranked choice voting have elected their first-ever Black mayors and most racially diverse city councils. On average, Black voters rank more candidates than white voters.”
D.C. Residents Weigh In on Ranked-Choice Voting
During a meeting at Metropolitan AME Church on Oct. 6, District residents listened to panelists Philip Pannell and Deidre Brown explain their countering perspectives on ranked-choice voting.
Pannell, treasurer for the ballot proposal and executive director of Anacostia Coordinating Council, discussed how, ‘when’ the ballot was passed, it would promote voter participation and attract a diverse pool of candidates.
“One of the benefits would be that the candidate using ranked choice voting or what is known as instant runoff voting will guarantee that the person who wins, wins with a simple majority in the vote, which gives the person the mandate,” Pannell explained.
Ranked-choice voting note, according to Better Gov, could be beneficial in allowing voters to vote based on who they want to, “instead of on a calculation of who has the best likelihood of winning.”
Brown, with the counter-organization Vote No 83, advocated for voting reforms, highlighting the lack of public education on ranked-choice voting and the spread of misinformation.
“So, the slogan Make All Votes Count, right now, all votes are counting, but under ranked-choice voting, what will happen, some folks will not be counted,” Brown explained. “With [it], we have an exhaustive ballot when the people you ranked have been eliminated. So, now your votes and whoever you voted for are no longer counted in the final tabulation.”
Salim Adofo, chairperson of the Ward 8C Advisory Neighborhood Commission, said ranked-choice voting could be positive for District voters.
“I think that the opportunity to include independents in the primary whether it be Republican, Green Party, Libertarian, or whatever party it is, is important. Having people be able to get the majority of the vote is important because then you would need to campaign to the majority of your constituency and not just the small segment,” Adofo said.
Republican candidate for the District’s Delegate to the House of Representatives Myrtle Alexander said ranked-choice voting can get complicated, particularly in D.C. and for voters of color.
“With regards to ranked-choice voting, this in and of itself is a rather complex system. When the notion of ‘one voter, one candidate, equals one vote,’ has been the norm for decades, such a change would immediately bring about a disabling factor to many voters, especially our Black and brown voters,” she said.
Alexander noted the District should set an example for the rest of the nation when it comes to voting.
“It is my opinion that as the nation’s capital, we have a role and a responsibility to lead our nation on many fronts. One integral position is that of encouraging every citizen to participate in all elections,” she said, adding her plans if elected to Congress. “I would introduce legislation to establish Washington D.C. as the nation’s trailblazer for taking such a valuable and much-needed stance where every citizen must vote.”
Presented by the DC Board of Elections and The Washington Informer, the Vote Your Future! Resource Guide is a go-to tool for checking your registration status, registering to vote, requesting a mail-in ballot, and more! Explore these tools and get ready for the upcoming election. As always, thank you for supporting local journalism!
