Advocates for ranked-choice voting are hoping that a recent veto won't set back their movement.
How do absentee ballots work in a ranked-choice election? What are the reporting requirements for detailing a first round and second round and even a third round of voting? These were the details at the heart of a bill to clarify how ranked-choice voting works. But the governor vetoed the bill saying he does not want to institutionalize a system that has yet to prove its effectiveness.
"I feel like that veto message implies that just because Virginia has only a couple of localities who have adopted ranked-choice voting that it’s this cutting-edge, unproven policy," says Liz White at UpVote Virginia. "And it's used all over the country at the state level, at the municipal level, it's used in other countries, it's been around for more than 100 years."
The veto struck many people as ironic considering the reason Glenn Youngkin is governor is that he won a ranked-choice vote in a convention to secure the Republican nomination.
"I find that rather shocking, quite honestly. If it was good enough for him, it should be good enough for other candidates," says Senator Jennifer Boysko, a Democrat from Herndon. "I'm looking forward to having a new governor who is going to be a little bit more thoughtful and willing to think out of the box."
For now, some local offices can be elected in a ranked-choice vote, but others cannot. Advocates want to make the process available for all offices up and down the ballot.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
