UpVoteVA is working with a pro-RCV coalition to advocate for ranked choice voting.
Virginia stands ready to take another bipartisan step forward with ranked choice voting, and with a local RCV pilot bill going into effect in July of 2021, the Commonwealth has been preparing for RCV expansion.
The legacy organization (OneVirginia2021) wound down in 2022 after a successful redistricting reform effort, but in August of 2022 the group relaunched with a new look, leadership, and a new portfolio of policy issues, including its flagship ranked choice voting.
In 2020, HB1103 was passed allowing localities to pilot ranked choice voting for their governing bodies, the law went into effect in July of 2021. In September of 2021, the Virginia SBE (state elections board) adopted regulations for ranked choice voting.
UpVoteVA will be working with a pro-RCV coalition to ensure that Virginia localities take advantage of HB1103, and that voters know more about RCV moving forward.
UpVote Virginia advocates for the improvement of Virginia’s electoral system to better reflect the will of voters. We're supporting their effort to adopt and implement ranked choice voting through nonpartisan education, advocacy, and grassroots engagement.
Ranked choice voting is a commonsense change that gives voters the option to rank candidates for office in the order of preference. If no candidate receives a majority of the first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and the votes that candidate received count instantly towards the next choice on those voters’ ballots. That process repeats until a candidate receives a majority of the vote and wins.
Ranked choice voting gives voters more choice, voice, and power when they cast their ballots, eliminates the “spoiler effect,” and helps guarantee that elected leaders are elected with majority support.