1. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, beginning with the June 2026 primary election and for all subsequent elections thereafter, ranked choice voting as provided for by this section shall be used for each primary, special, and general election involving 3 or more qualified candidates for electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Mayor, Attorney General, Chairman of the Council, Delegate to the House of Representatives, members of the Council, members of the State Board of Education, United States Senator, United States Representative, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, or any other elected official as defined in § 1-1001.02(13).
2. (b) Each ballot shall allow a voter to rank up to 5 candidates, including a write-in candidate, or as many candidates as there are in the contest if fewer than 5.

3. (c) Each ballot shall contain instructions informing the voter of the following, subject to usability testing and modification by the Board based on ballot design and voting machine capability:

   1. (1) That the voter may rank candidates in the order of the voter's preference;
   2. (2) That the voter may rank as many candidates as the voter wishes, up to 5 candidates;
   3. (3) How to properly mark the ballot and indicate the voter's candidate rankings;
   4. (4) That assigning a lower ranking to a candidate will not harm the chances of candidates whom the voter assigned higher rankings; and;
   5. (5) That the voter should not give more than one candidate the same ranking, rank a candidate more than once, or skip a ranking.

4. (d) In any single contest conducted by ranked choice voting, other than a general election for at-large members of the Council and any presidential preference primary election conducted under subsection (f) of this section, each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked active candidate on that ballot. Tabulation shall proceed in rounds, with each round proceeding sequentially as follows:

   1. (1) If a candidate has a majority of votes among active candidates in a round of tabulation, that candidate shall be elected or nominated, and tabulation shall be complete; or

   2. (2) If no candidate has a majority of votes among active candidates in a round of tabulation:

      1. (A) The active candidate with the fewest votes shall be defeated;
      2. (B) Each vote for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to each ballot's next-ranked active candidate; and
      3. (C) A new round of tabulation shall begin with the step set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

5. (e) In any general election contest for at-large members of the Council, in which there shall be 2 winners, each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked active candidate on that ballot. Tabulation shall proceed in rounds, with each round proceeding sequentially as follows:

   1. (1) If there are 2 or fewer active candidates, the candidates shall be elected, and tabulation shall be complete; or

   2. (2) If there are more than 2 active candidates:

      1. (A) The active candidate with the fewest votes shall be defeated;
      2. (B) Each vote for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to each ballot's next-ranked active candidate; and
      3. (C) A new round of tabulation shall begin with the step set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection.

6. (f) In any presidential preference primary election in which delegates are awarded to multiple candidates on a proportional basis, each ballot shall count as one vote for the highest-ranked active candidate on that ballot. Tabulation shall proceed in rounds, with each round proceeding sequentially as follows:

   1. (1) If the percentage of total votes cast for each active candidate is above the party's threshold for receiving delegates, then tabulation shall be complete; or

   2. (2) If there are any active candidates whose percentage of the vote total is below the party's threshold for receiving delegates:

      1. (A) The active candidate with the fewest votes shall be defeated;
      2. (B) Each vote for the defeated candidate shall be transferred to each ballot's next-ranked active candidate; and
      3. (C) A new round of tabulation shall begin with the step set forth in paragraph (1) of this subsection.
7. (g) In any presidential preference primary election that awards delegates to a single candidate on a winner-take-all basis, tabulation shall proceed under subsection (d) of this section.
8. (h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude a political party from allocating delegates according to its own rules.

9. (i) In any round of tabulation in a contest conducted by ranked choice voting:

   1. (1) An inactive ballot shall not count for any candidate; and
   2. (2) An undervote shall not count for any candidate.
10. (j) If 2 or more active candidates are tied for the fewest votes and tabulation cannot continue until one such candidate is eliminated, the candidate to be eliminated shall be determined by lot immediately under an automated procedure to be established by the Board. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (l) of this section, if 2 or more candidates are tied for the greatest number of votes and the tie must be broken to determine the winner or nominee, that tie shall be resolved pursuant to § 1-1001.10(c).

11. (k)

    1. (1) If there are fewer than 3 qualified candidates on the ballot in a primary, general, or special election for electors for President and Vice President of the United States, Mayor, Attorney General, Chairman of the Council, Delegate to the House of Representatives, members of the Council other than those covered by paragraph (2) of this subsection, members of the State Board of Education, United States Senator, United States Representative, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, or any other elected official as defined in § 1-1001.02(13), that election shall not be conducted by ranked choice voting. Except as otherwise provided in subsection (l) of this section, in such elections, the ballot shall allow voters to select a single candidate, and the candidate receiving the most votes shall be nominated or elected.
    2. (2) If there are fewer than three qualified candidates on the ballot in a general election for at-large members of the Council, that election shall not be conducted by ranked choice voting. In such elections, the ballot shall allow voters to select 2 candidates, and the 2 qualified candidates receiving the most votes shall be elected.

12. (l) If the appointment of presidential electors following any general election for President of the United States is governed by the § 1-1051.01, then, in any general election for President and Vice President of the United States using ranked choice voting:

    1. (1) The certification of the appointment of electors shall be made in accordance with the provisions of § 1-1051.01;

    2. (2) The final determination of the presidential vote count reported and certified to the States that have enacted § 1-1051.01, for purposes of the Act, shall be:

       1. (A) In an election using ranked choice voting pursuant to subsection (d) of this section, the votes received in the final round of tabulation by each slate of candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States that received votes in the final round of tabulation; or
       2. (B) In an election not using ranked choice voting pursuant to subsection (k) of this section, the votes received by each slate of candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States; and
    3. (3) If two or more slates of candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States are tied for the greatest number of votes, the tie shall remain unresolved.
13. (m) The Board shall issue such regulations as are necessary to conduct elections using ranked choice voting.

History

Aug. 12, 1955, 69 Stat. 699, ch. 862, § 8a

Mar. 7, 2025, D.C. Law 25-295, § 2(c)

Applicability

Applicability of D.C. Law 25-295: § 3 of D.C. Law 25-295 provided that the creation of this section by § 2(c) of D.C. Law 25-295 is subject to the inclusion of the law’s fiscal effect in an approved budget and financial plan. Therefore that amendment has not been implemented.