Campaign Partner
Make All Votes Count
Lisa Rice
VAV D.C. State Leader and Initiative 83 Proposer
Outcome
Successful
Voted Yes on Initiative 83
Yes: 208,689
72.8%
Voted No Initiative 83
No: 77,965
22.2%
Written by our friends at FairVote. The Full release can be read here
Voters in our nation’s capital have overwhelmingly passed Initiative 83 to bring ranked choice voting to the District. The initiative currently leads, 73%-27%, and is winning in all eight of the city’s wards. DC voters join voters who passed ranked choice voting earlier today in Oak Park, Illinois; four states are also voting on adopting RCV, with results starting to be released later tonight. Ranked choice voting has now won 31 city ballot measures in a row.
In addition to implementing ranked choice voting in Washington, DC – including for president – Initiative 83 would let independent voters vote in a party primary of their choice.
Today, ranked choice voting has been used in 12 cities and states home to 5 million people, including for the presidential election in Maine and Alaska. Overall, 52 cities, counties, and states home to nearly 17 million people have now adopted ranked choice voting.
Given that ranked choice voting was used in only 10 cities and zero states in 2016, the growth trajectory remains strong – and making the ballot in four states plus DC marks a remarkable step forward for the election reform movement.
Veterans for All Voters Summary
The Yes on 83 campaign effectively leveraged grassroots efforts to gain support for the ballot measure. The campaign gave a number of educational presentations, held press conferences with esteemed outlets (like the Washington Post), blanketed the district with yard signs, and effectively used mailors/marketing campaigns to inform the public about the reforms, answer any questions the public may have, and gain popular support.
VAV DC and VA volunteers Isaac Riddle and Carlos de Castro Pretelt were active with the campaign. VAV CoS Alex Littell and Isaac Riddle even volunteered to help with signature gathering for the ballot initiative.
The Yes on 83 campaign was an incredible success.
Thanks to the dedication of VAV DC leader Lisa Rice and her campaign team, the district successfully passed semi-open primaries and ranked choice voting reforms!
Related Articles
D.C. approves Initiative 83 for ranked-choice voting - Axios D.C.
Supporters of ranked-choice voting say it will press candidates to build a broader coalition of supporters and that open primaries will allow more people to have a say in key races.
D.C.'s ranked-choice voting initiative, explained - The 51st
Here’s everything you need to know about Initiative 83
The future of the instant runoff election reform - Brookings
In the few cases where it has been implemented, ranked-choice voting appears to generate more civil campaigns, less polarized rhetoric, more moderate candidates, and election winners more willing to work with opposing parties.
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