Attend my town hall meeting on ranked choice voting to:

• Learn more about this increasingly popular voting method
• Hear from two experts on the topic
• Find out out if it could be implemented in Fairfax County
• Ask questions

Town Hall Panelists

The town hall will feature insights from two key voices in the field of election administration and reform:

• Gretchen Reinemeyer, director of elections for Arlington County: As the first jurisdiction in Virginia to pilot ranked choice coting, Arlington has used this method for electing its board members during its 2023 primaries and the 2024 and 2025 general elections. Reinemeyer will provide a firsthand look at how the process works, the lessons learned, and the feedback received from voters.
• Liz White, executive director of Up Vote Virginia: A leading voice in the nonpartisan movement to improve election systems, White will discuss the broader implications of ranked choice voting.

A representative from the Fairfax County Office of Elections will also be in attendance to provide local context, share their insights and answer questions.

Ranked Choice Voting in Virginia

A new state law passed on April 22 established ranked choice voting as a permanent, optional voting method for county, city and town governing body elections, and it requires the Virginia State Board of Elections to provide standards and regulations for ranked choice voting and provide voter education materials about it.

Localities were first authorized to implement ranked choice voting in 2021, but the General Assembly’s original legislation sunset this voting method on July 1, 2031. However, ranked choice voting became permanent with this month’s passage of SB 176.

To date, only two local governments in Virginia have implemented ranked choice voting. Arlington County was the first, using it for their 2023 primary elections for their Board of Supervisors. More recently, the City of Charlottesville implemented it for its city council election last year.