June 16, 2026 – FairVote is sharing the below statement from Lisa D. T. Rice, CEO of our partner Grow Democracy DC and the Proposer of Initiative 83, which led to the implementation of ranked choice voting in Washington, D.C. Rice shared the following statement as polls closed on Primary Day: 

“DC ranked the vote! Voters across DC successfully ranked their ballots, and enjoyed the additional choice and power it gave them. We rank things every day, and voters quickly learned how to rank candidates.

“It’s been a long journey to this point – getting Initiative 83 on the ballot, passing it with 73% of the vote and a supermajority in every ward, fighting to get ranked choice voting funded, and finally rolling it out this year.

“I’m grateful for the DC Board of Elections and partners for their strong implementation and voter education efforts across all eight wards. Thanks to our dedicated election workers, our voting centers largely ran smoothly from early voting through tonight. Rank the District volunteers spoke with thousands of voters as they entered poll sites, and most were familiar and comfortable with ranked choice voting. The most common question was whether voters had to rank all five choices, or if they could rank fewer.

“As we await results, we know that all the nominees and winners will have majority support – a far cry from past elections that were often won with just 20 or 30% of the vote. We encourage community organizations and campaigns to share clear information with the public, and communicate that we’ll get accurate, transparent, and representative results in the coming days.”

“More voter voice and a better democracy – this is what we voted for. Now it’s time to get the job done, and fund all of Initiative 83 by letting independents vote.”

DC voters are using ranked choice voting for the first time. Ranked choice voting passed with 73% of the vote in 2024 as part of Initiative 83, which also included a provision to let independents vote in DC’s primary elections.

The DC Council appropriated funds for the ranked choice voting portion of Initiative 83 and subsequently excluded funding for semi-open primaries – with that measure failing by a single vote. That needs to be corrected. The Council can now finish the job by fully funding Initiative 83 in this year’s budget, with the next vote coming on June 23.

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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.

Grow Democracy DC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization supporting implementation of ranked choice voting and semi-open primaries in the District of Columbia.