Electoral Justice
DC is at its best when every eligible voter participates in our elections. Voting in this country has a racist history, and DC4D works in coalition to dismantle barriers to voter participation. We believe small, grassroots donors should have more power in our elections than corporate interests, and no one should win office with a minority of the vote.
OVERALL RANKING OF DC Councilmembers on Electoral Justice
Green = Champion Yellow = Mixed Record Red = Not Aligned with DC4D
SPECIFIC VOTES CONSIDERED
SPECIAL NOTE ON INITIATIVE 83
In 2023, a group of residents launched a ballot initiative for the “Ranked Choice Voting and Open the Primary Elections to Independent Voters Act of 2024.” The Make All Votes Count DC campaign led the effort to support passage of the initiative, which became known as Initiative 83. The initiative, which was adopted in 2024 with 73% of the vote, would create ranked choice voting in all DC elections and would allow people registered as Independents to vote in DC primaries. DC for Democracy endorsed Initiative 83
As noted below, the DC Council held 2 votes in 2025 related to implementing the Ranked Choice Voting component of Initiative 83.
Used Public Financing in Their Last Election (DC4D supports): The DC Fair Elections Law provides a 5:1 match of donations to DC candidates, as long as they agree to limit donations to specified amounts (such as $50 for Ward Council races). They must also agree not to take any corporate or union donations. The Fair Elections law helps new candidates who may not have connections to well-off donors, and it limits the interest of wealthy residents and powerful corporate interests.
DC for Democracy played a key role in advocating for this major reform.
Introduced or signed on to Ranked Choice Voting Bill (Choice Act):Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) strengthens democracies by enhancing the power of individual voters and holding candidates more accountable. Under Ranked Choice Voting, voters select their first candidate but also can rank second and other choices. If no candidate gets 50% from the 1st-choice votes, RCV has a process to consider the 2nd-choice and other votes until one candidate gets majority support. The Ranked Choice Voting process requires candidates to campaign harder to earn not just 1st-choice votes, but also 2nd-choice votes. It also means no candidate can win with less than 50% of the vote simply because there is a crowded field.
In 2021, a bill to create Ranked Choice Voting in DC was introduced. The ranking below reflects those who introduced the bill as supporters. Note that after this bill was introduced,a ballot initiative to institute ranked choice voting – Initiative 83 – was passed by DC voters in 2024 and funded in 2025. (Initiative 83 also allows Independents to vote in a party primary of their choosing, but this has not been funded and thus cannot be implemented.)
DC for Democracy supports Ranked Choice Voting.
Voted to Fund Ranked Choice Voting:As noted above, Initiative 83 that was approved in 2024, calls for using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in DC elections and allowing Independents to vote in a DC party primary of their choosing. The initiative required a small amount of funding before it could be implemented.
The DC Council considered a budget amendment in the summer of 2025, from Councilmembers Henderson and Nadeau, to fund the RCV component of Initiative 83. The amendment passed. The scoring below reflects those who voted for the amendment and those who didn’t.
DC for Democracy supports funding Ranked Choice Voting
Opposed Amendment to Delay Implementation of Ranked Choice Voting:After RCV was funded in the budget for FY 2026, Council Members Bonds and Felder introduced an amendment in the budget debate to delay implementation of RCV until 2028. The amendment failed and RCV will be implemented in 2026. The scoring below reflects those who voted for the amendment and those who didn’t.
DC for Democracy opposed the amendment delaying implementation of Ranked Choice Voting.