To the editor: The Arlington County Board again disappointed advocates of ranked-choice voting (RCV) on Dec. 19 by voting to limit the use of the method to County Board primary elections only.
In June, the County Board invited the public to provide feedback on their experience with RCV in the 2023 County Board primary election. That body received 2,450 responses; 57 percent of the respondents rated their experience using RCV as “exceptional” or “positive” and 47 percent believed RCV should be implemented in every County Board election, while only 7 percent of the respondents indicated that they believed RCV should be used in primaries only.
At the Dec. 19 meeting, a total of 19 speakers expressed support for using RCV in County Board elections, while three expressed their opposition. Not one speaker expressed their support for using RCV in County Board primary elections only.
The vote to limit ranked-choice voting to County Board primary elections showed again how out of touch County Board members are with the electorate. Advocates hope the 2024 County Board will immediately introduce a revised ordinance that includes the use of ranked-choice for all County Board elections.
Mike Cantwell, Arlington
