This article was originally posted on June 21, and was updated on July 7 to reflect the final results release for the Washington, DC election.

On June 16, Washington, DC voters used ranked choice voting (RCV) for the first time. With RCV, District elections now deliver majority winners, and voters have a greater voice in crowded races. Approximately 141,000 people voted in the Democratic mayoral primary – the highest turnout since 1994.

Across the two races that went to RCV counts, 90% of voters expressed a preference among the three finalists. In both races, 71% of voters whose first choice was eliminated still had their ballot count for one of the finalists — including 34,093 voters in the at-large Democratic Council primary.

The data also shows that voters handled RCV well, as 99.6% of voters cast a valid ballot. Learn more about voter education efforts from the DC Board of Elections, Rank the District, and others in this post.

Below are the preliminary results of key races.

Races that went to an RCV count

In two Democratic DC Council primaries, no candidate received a majority of first choices. The winners in these races have been determined by RCV counts.

At-large primary results

Nine candidates ran in the at-large primary. The Associated Press called the contest for Oye Owolewa on Sunday evening.

Owolewa led with 35% of first choices. In a choose-one election, that would have been enough to win. For instance, in 2022, Councilmember Anita Bonds won the primary for this seat with only 36% of first choices.

However, with ranked choice voting, DC residents will get a majority winner in the race. In the RCV count, Owolewa grew his support to 51%. He will be heavily favored to win the general election – and if he does, he will enter office with majority support and a clear mandate to lead.

RCVis results display created by the DC Board of Elections

90% of voters had their vote count for one of three finalists. Of voters whose top choice wasn’t one of the three finalists, 72% ranked at least one of them. Among the finalists, Owolewa was the most popular backup choice – he was preferred by 42%, compared to 35% who preferred Lisa Raymond and 23% who preferred Kevin Chavous.

With ranked choice voting, 34,093 more voters had their votes count for one of the finalists.

Ward 1 primary results

Five candidates ran in the Ward 1 Democratic primary. Aparna Raj led with 47% of first choices, followed by Miguel Trindade Deramo with 21%.

In the RCV count, Raj expanded her support to 52%, and won the contest. In total, 96% of voters expressed a preference between Raj, Trindade Deramo, and third-place finisher Rashida Brown on their ballots. 71% of voters who ranked an eliminated candidate first also ranked at least one of the three finalists.

RCVis results display created by the DC Board of Elections

Races that did not go to an RCV count

Democratic mayoral primary

The most closely watched race was the Democratic primary for mayor. In the deep-blue District, the winner is all but certain to win the general election. Councilmember Janesse Lewis George won the primary with 54% of first choices, making an RCV count unnecessary. Her closest competitor, Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, had 35%.

Democratic delegate primary

Five candidates ran in the primary to succeed Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton. Councilmember Robert White won with 64% of first choices, followed by Councilmember Brooke Pinto with 21%.

At-large Council special election

Outside of party primaries, there was one special election for an at-large Council seat in which all voters could participate. 

Former Councilmember Elissa Silverman won the special election with 55% of first choices. Appointed Councilmember Doni Crawford and Board of Education President Jacque Patterson followed, with 26% and 18% of the vote, respectively.

Ranked choice voting is off to a strong start in DC. We will analyze the detailed ballot data that comes out of this election in the coming weeks, and look forward to seeing how RCV delivers in future elections in November and beyond.