Indicted Washington, DC official returns to office with 30% support – a reminder why DC is moving to ranked choice voting
Yesterday, Washington, DC held a special election for its open Ward 8 City Council seat. Trayon White, who was expelled from the Council in February after being indicted on bribery charges, won back his former seat with approximately 30% of the vote. This election offers a timely illustration of why 73% of DC voters just voted to adopt ranked choice voting (RCV) for future elections.
White, who will stand trial next year, faced six challengers in the special election: Salim Adofo, Mike Austin, Sheila Bunn, and three write-in candidates. The packed field made it all but inevitable a candidate would win without majority support.
As of Wednesday morning, White leads by just 403 votes. Over 3,000 voters who picked the third- and fourth-place candidates – Salim Adofo and Mike Austin – won’t have their voices heard in the choice between White and his strongest competitor, Sheila Bunn.
Only about half of all voters weighed in between White and Bunn.
| Candidate | # of votes | % of the vote |
| Trayon White Sr. | 1,987 | 29.46% |
| Mike Austin | 1,584 | 23.49% |
| Sheila Bunn | 1,627 | 24.13% |
| Salim Adofo | 1,495 | 22.17% |
| Write-in candidates | 51 | 0.76% |
Plurality wins are common in special elections, since these races often attract a wide set of candidates who split the vote. Ranked choice voting offers a solution to this problem, by letting voters rank candidates in order of preference and using voters’ rankings to identify a winner supported by a majority of voters.
If a voter’s top choice can’t win, their vote counts for their next choice. No more worrying about “spoilers” or “wasting” your vote. While it’s impossible to say how RCV would have impacted the Ward 8 outcome, the winner of any RCV election must earn the support of a broader range of voters – not just a small plurality.
Fortunately, last year DC voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 83 – which would bring ranked choice voting to the District’s elections and let independents vote in the primary of their choice. Just this week, the DC City Council approved funding to implement RCV in 2026.
With RCV on track to take effect next year, this Ward 8 special election could be the last DC election held under a broken, single-choice system. More jurisdictions should follow DC’s lead and improve their elections with ranked choice voting.
To learn more or get involved in election reform in Washington, DC, visit Make All Votes Count DC.