Virginia passes law to expand ranked choice voting

On Wednesday, the Virginia General Assembly passed SB176 and HB630 into law, expanding the Commonwealth’s ranked choice voting (RCV) local option pilot program and making the program permanent. This makes Virginia the first state to pass pro-RCV legislation into law in 2026.

Prior to passage of these bills, Virginia’s RCV local option program only allowed RCV in city council and county board elections. Additionally, the program was set to expire in 2031, creating uncertainty for jurisdictions considering RCV. UpVote Virginia and Ranked Choice Virginia have led the way in expanding RCV in the Old Dominion:

By making the program permanent and codifying best practices, this legislation ensures that any locality that wants to adopt ranked choice voting will have a clear and durable framework to do so.

– Liz White, executive director of UpVote Virginia

SB176 and HB630 make the local option program permanent, and expand the option to town councils. Before, RCV was only an option for county boards of supervisors and city councils. 

RCV already has a record of success in Virginia, in both party-run primaries and government-run elections. Arlington County has used RCV four times in primaries and general elections for seats on its County Board – most recently in November 2025; in 2023, the Board voted to continue using RCV in all future primaries, and this year it voted to continue using RCV in at least the next two general elections. Charlottesville used RCV for the first time in June 2025 for its City Council primaries. Voters in both places say they want to continue using RCV.

Graphics from Ranked Choice Virginia showing data on Charlottesville’s first use of ranked choice voting

Virginia Republicans have used RCV in several party-run primaries, including to nominate Governor Glenn Youngkin and other winning statewide candidates in 2021, as well as to nominate several candidates for Congress in 2022. Fairfax County and Arlington County Democrats have used RCV in party-run primaries for School Board and County Board seats. 

SB176 and HB630 will make it possible for more localities across Virginia to bring RCV to their elections, and allow places that use RCV to keep it permanently. If you live in Virginia, visit UpVote Virginia or Ranked Choice Virginia today to learn more and get involved.