Exit poll: 88% of Arlington voters say ranked choice voting is easy, 67% would like to use it in future elections
June 21, 2024 – A new exit poll from FairVote and Exit Polling Strategies shows that overwhelming majorities of Arlington voters say ranked choice voting (RCV) is easy, and would like to use it in future elections. These findings hold across all demographic groups.
Key findings include:
- 88% of Arlington voters agree that “marking the ranked choice voting ballot was easy”
- 67% of Arlington voters agree that “I would like to use ranked choice voting in future elections”
This poll adds to an unscientific 2023 county survey showing that Arlington voters like RCV; 56% of voters in that survey wanted to use RCV again, compared to 67% in the 2024 survey. Across Virginia and nationwide, voters say they like RCV and want to expand it.
The poll respondents are broken down by both age and race, though the sample sizes of respondents identifying as Black/African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian-American, and Multiple Races/Other are small and may have a higher margin of error. Strong majorities across all demographic groups agreed that marking the RCV ballot was easy, and that they would like to use RCV in future elections.
Strong majorities of respondents in each racial group said they would like to use RCV in future elections:
- 66% of White voters
- 74% of Black voters
- 80% of Hispanic voters
- 71% of Asian voters
- 70% of Multiple Race/Other race voters
Poll Methodology
The poll was conducted in-person at all 54 polling locations in Arlington County during early voting and election-day voting. Responses were collected between June 8 and June 18, 2024. 344 County Board Democratic Primary voters were surveyed.
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FairVote is a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all. We research and advance voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American.
