Ranked choice voting in DC moves forward — despite attempt to halt it
Ranked choice voting is coming to D C whether these two council members like it or not At-Large Council member Anita Bonds and Council member Wendell Felder of Ward argued for an crisis measure to delay the rollout of ranked choice voting until on Tuesday During the populace council meeting Bonds and Felder argued that the D C Board of Elections lacks both the time and a finalized plan to properly implement the system ahead of a June deadline Related stories Kenyan McDuffie tells WTOP he s excited about what is to come after resigning from DC Council DC Council member Anita Bonds will not seek reelection DC Mayor Bowser s exit sets stage for historic shake-up in city politics I urge my colleagues to vote yes on this matter to provide the board of elections with the opportunity to successfully implement ranked choice voting by affording them more time Bonds commented Bonds made it clear that she doesn t want to stop ranked choice voice from being established The crisis that I m presenting does not litigate whether ranked choice voting should or should not be used in the District as it is perfectly clear that Initiative was passed by the D C electorate in electoral contest year and therefore you and I expect this implementation in the District Bonds stated She did however question if the constituents and the D C Board of Elections have the ability to assure a fair and equal poll in The question before us is when can it be implemented with accuracy and assurance that the populace has received adequate training to understand not just how to mark one s ballot for one or more candidates by ranking one choice but equally crucial is how will one s votes be tallied Bonds sought the board Felder noted that there hasn t been enough population outreach and learning on how ranked choice voting works Residents continue to be confused and concerned about the lack of clarity around how ranked choice voting works or the rules around their vote and how they will be counted he revealed The lack of society engagement Felder expressed could disproportionately impact marginalized voters I am especially concerned about communities who have been historically disenfranchised including our seniors individuals with limited English proficiency and our returning citizens Felder mentioned For example Wards and have the highest number of seniors in the city But yet as of in the modern day there s been no targeted outreach or to really focus on that population At-Large Council member Christina Henderson argued that Bonds and Felder were misrepresenting the board of elections ability to roll out ranked choice voting She reported they were misconstruing the testimony about polling readiness from the Board of Elections Executive Director Monica Evans Using director Evans statements out of context to suggest that implementation of RCV ranked choice voting is somehow quote unquote dangerous is disingenuous to attempt to delay the will of the voters Henderson explained The measure failed - District residents will be able to use ranked choice during the June primary in which a new mayor and at least three new council members will be chosen It allows voters to rank candidates in order of their preference instead of picking just one So if your first choice doesn t win your vote will count toward your second choice The first candidate to reach a majority wins Source
