Issue
Ranked-choice voting
DC's first-ever ranked-choice primary is June 16, 2026. Here's how the ballot works and why your second choice can matter.
In 2024, DC voters approved Initiative 83 with 74% of the vote, making the District the first U.S. capital to adopt ranked-choice voting for its party primaries. In June 2026, DC voters will use a ranked ballot for the first time in a real election — instead of choosing one candidate per race, you can rank up to five in order of preference. If no one wins a majority of first-choice votes, the lowest finisher is eliminated and their ballots transfer to each voter's next remaining choice. Rounds repeat until someone has a majority.
What changed
Initiative 83 passed with 74% approval
Voters approved RCV at the November 2024 general election. The measure became DC Law 25-295 and applies to all races in the District's party primaries — Mayor, Council, At-Large, Attorney General, Delegate, and SBOE.
Council funded RCV, not open primaries
The Council voted 8–4 in July 2025 to fund the ranked-choice tabulation system in the FY26 budget. The open-primary half of Initiative 83 — which would have let independents vote in party primaries — was not funded, and remains in legal limbo.
DCBOE has published the RCV sample-ballot walkthrough
DCBOE has released a sample-ballot training PDF and per-ward sample ballots (Wards 1–8, Democratic / Republican / DC Statehood Green) showing how to mark up to five rankings — one oval per column, one column per candidate. Live mail ballots began going out May 11, 2026.
How tabulation works
Round 1
Every ballot's 1st-choice vote is counted. If any candidate has more than half of the first-choice votes, they win and counting stops.
Round 2+
The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Every ballot that ranked the eliminated candidate first is now transferred to that voter's 2nd choice — if their 2nd choice is also eliminated, the ballot moves to the 3rd, and so on. The count is re-tallied with the remaining candidates.
Repeat
Eliminate, transfer, recount. Rounds continue until one candidate has a majority of the ballots still in play. Ballots whose ranked choices have all been eliminated are set aside as "exhausted" and no longer count toward the majority threshold.
Your ballot
For each race on the June 16, 2026 ballot, you'll see candidate names with columns for 1st choice, 2nd choice, up to 5th. Fill in one bubble per column, one column per candidate — never the same candidate in two columns, never two candidates in the same column. You can rank fewer than five if you only have strong feelings about your top one or two. DCBOE has published a sample-ballot training PDF showing the exact layout you'll see on mail and in-person ballots.
Interactive simulator
Five fictional candidates. Twenty hypothetical voters have already cast ballots. Cast yours and watch what happens — you'll see eliminations, transfers, and which round your vote lands in.
Tap candidates in the order you'd rank them. Your first tap becomes 1st choice, your second becomes 2nd, and so on. Tap a ranked candidate again to clear and reshuffle. Then tap Tabulate to see how the runoff plays out against twenty hypothetical voters.
No candidates ranked yet
Common questions
Do I have to rank all five candidates?
No. You can rank as few or as many as you want, up to five. Ranking only your top choice is the same as voting in a regular election; your ballot just won't transfer if that candidate is eliminated.
What happens if my first choice wins in round one?
Nothing further happens with your ballot — your candidate has a majority of first-place votes, the count is over, and your vote counted exactly once.
What if all my ranked choices are eliminated?
Your ballot becomes 'exhausted' — it stops counting in subsequent rounds. The winner is decided by whoever has a majority of the remaining (non-exhausted) ballots. Ranking five different candidates makes exhaustion much less likely than ranking just one or two.
Does ranking a second choice hurt my first choice?
No. Your second choice only ever comes into play after your first choice is eliminated. While your first choice is still in the running, every count uses your first-choice vote.
Does this take longer to count?
The first-round count is the same speed as any election. Subsequent rounds are computed by DCBOE's tabulation system after all first-choice ballots are tallied. Expect unofficial first-round totals on election night and full round-by-round results within the certification window.
Does ranked-choice voting apply to the general election?
No — only the primary. The general election in November 2026 is a single-choice vote between each party's nominee plus any independent or third-party candidates who qualify.
Who decides
- DC Board of Elections (DCBOE)Implements RCV in the June 16, 2026 primary, prints ranked ballots, runs the round-by-round tabulation, and publishes round-level results.
- DC CouncilWrote the implementing statute (DC Law 25-295) and decides each year whether to fund the tabulation infrastructure and voter education.
- DC votersCast a ranked ballot — up to five choices per race. You can rank fewer than five; you cannot rank the same candidate twice.
Recent moves
- DCBOE releases RCV preliminary results and round-by-round tabulation for June 16 primaryDCBOE — 2026 Primary Results ↗
- Washingtonian publishes a voter-facing guide to ranked-choice voting in the DC primaryWashingtonian — Your Guide to Ranked Choice Voting in the DC Primaries ↗
- First poll of DC's RCV primary shows second-choice transfers could decide the mayor's raceCity Cast DC — TrueDot poll ↗
- DCBOE posts per-ward sample ballots (Wards 1–8, all three parties) showing the live RCV layoutDCBOE — 2026 Elections page ↗
- Mail ballots begin going out — first DC primary using ranked-choice votingDCBOE — 2026 Primary Calendar ↗
- DCBOE publishes RCV sample-ballot training showing the up-to-5-rankings layoutDCBOE — RCV Training Ballot (PDF) ↗
- Council votes 8–4 to fund ranked-choice tabulation in FY26 budgetDC Council ↗
- Initiative 83 passes with 74% — RCV and open primaries approvedDCBOE — 2024 General Results ↗