Press release: UpVote Virginia Statement on the December 19 Arlington County Board Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 19, 2023
Contact: Liz White
Hello@UpVoteVA.org 

UpVote Virginia Executive Director Liz White testified to the County Board, "Tonight’s vote reflects the reality of your experiment: Arlington County liked Ranked Choice Voting so much that you are voting to make it a permanent fixture in county board primaries moving forward."

ARLINGTON, VA – Today, UpVote Virginia joined advocates for fair elections from across the Commonwealth to celebrate the unanimous vote by the Arlington County Board to permanently adopt Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for its primary elections. 

This evening’s vote follows Arlington’s successful RCV primary election in June, when it became the first locality in Virginia to take advantage of bipartisan state legislation allowing cities and counties the option to use RCV to elect members of local governing bodies. 

UpVote Executive Director Liz White testified at Tuesday’s Board meeting, and was joined by several nonpartisan grassroots groups who have been working to expand on Virginia’s momentum around RCV – the League of Women Voters of Virginia, FairVote, Veterans for All Voters, and UU the Vote.

In her public testimony, White said, “Today’s vote will show that using RCV in June wasn’t simply a one-off – it will show that Arlington’s experiment with RCV was a success and was just the beginning.”

She added, “It is our hope…that this board will continue to be a source of inspiration to other localities, and we urge you to consider RCV for not only the general elections for county board, but elections for other local offices as those options become available through legislation.”

Ranked Choice Voting is the fastest-growing nonpartisan electoral reform in America, and in Virginia, both parties have embraced this program in recent years. RCV has been used by the Arlington County Democratic Committee in their recent primary contests, and the Republican Party of Virginia used it at its statewide nominating convention in 2021, and in several congressional primaries in 2022. Further, at UpVote Virginia’s launch event in 2022, both Governor George Allen (R) and Congressman Don Beyer (D) spoke about their shared support of Ranked Choice Voting.

Read Liz White’s entire testimony to the Arlington County Board here.

UpVote Virginia is a registered 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization dedicated to elevating the voices of Virginia voters through nonpartisan education, advocacy, and grassroots engagement. As a democracy reform collective, UpVote Virginia will focus on multiple issues related to making our elections stronger and more equitable, including its first flagship issue: Ranked Choice Voting. Learn more at UpVoteVA.org.

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