DC’s June primary will use ranked choice voting, DC Council vote decides

D.C. voters will have more of a say in who gets elected to office come June 2026.

That month’s primary is the first time ranked choice voting will be in place, after the D.C. Council cleared the way with a Tuesday vote.

It’s just one of many reasons the 2026 election is shaping up to be the most consequential local election in District history.

There had been questions about whether the D.C. Council would allow ranked choice voting to go into effect.

The new voting method was approved in a voter initiative in 2024, but council members have been raising questions about whether the Board of Elections is prepared to implement the new system.

In ranked choice voting, voters rank candidates in order of preference rather than vote for a single candidate.

Earlier in December, the D.C. Council voted down legislation that would have delayed ranked choice voting. On Tuesday, council members once again debated legislation that would have delayed ranked choice voting until the next election cycle, in 2028.

At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds, who announced she is not running for re-election, proposed Tuesday’s legislation.

“Today, 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 said on Tuesday. “A one-year delay is what is being proposed. The agency could not definitively commit to conducting sufficient outreach to District residents before the June primary, and that should be concerning for all of us.”

Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen was one of the many council members opposing any delay in implementing the new voting system.

“We should not change elections like this,” Allen said on Tuesday. “‘Cause that’s what this is. This is changing an election after it has already begun. The cycle has already begun. Ranked choice voting has been planned for, it is funded, and it is the law. Changing it once and election has already begun adds uncertainty and confusion. It is unfair to the candidates and to the campaigns to have their rules changed on them mid-stream.”

“I do believe this is going to be probably one of the most consequential elections that we have in recent memory, with more open seats and competitive races than we’ve probably seen in quite a while,” Allen continued. “To me that is all the more reason ranked choice voting has to be on our June election, because it will better capture the voters’ choices and thoughts on this.

After nearly an hour of debate, the legislation was voted down 8-5.

The result is a June primary in which D.C. voters will choose a new mayor and at least three new council members — with ranked choice voting.