In the 2024 election, DC passed Initiative 83, a ballot measure establishing ranked choice voting and open primaries, both of which will take effect in June 2026.
With over 70% of the vote, the initiative will allow voters to rank the candidates they want in office rather than cast a single vote. In the first round of the election, every voter’s first choice is counted. If no candidate receives greater than 50% of the vote in the initial count, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated from the race. All of the people who had that candidate as their first choice have their vote moved to their second choice, and the votes are recounted. This process is repeated until one candidate has over 50% of the vote.
Initiative 83 will also allow independents to vote in primary elections. Independents make up one in six DC voters. As they are not registered to any specific party, they are currently unable to vote in any primaries. However, as a predominantly democratic city, the election is usually decided in the Democratic primary, and the exclusion of independents can mean they lose their voice in deciding a candidate.
Despite passing, ranked choice voting must be funded by the DC Council in order to become law. The majority of the council is democratic and the DC Democratic Party opposed Initiative 83 on the basis that allowing independents to vote in Democratic primaries would undermine the interests of the party.
The DC Democratic Party filed two lawsuits against the initiative, claiming that opening primaries to independents would violate both the Home Rule charter — the document which offers DC self-governance — and the first and fifth amendments. The Home Rule charter calls for voters to elect officials on a “partisan” basis, and the lawsuits alleged that open primaries would push elections in a nonpartisan direction. The first and fifth amendments allow people to identify with a political party, and the lawsuits claimed open primaries would dilute the power of an individual’s political affiliation.
Some DC leaders have also opposed ranked choice voting. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she is “against” ranked choice voting in DC, as “our very good experience with elections suggests that we [don’t] need to make any change.”
The DC Council has previously refused to enact initiatives. In 2018, the Council did not enact Initiative 77, a proposal which suggested an end to tipped wages. Additionally, Congress can intervene in the enactment of Initiative 83, as the Home Rule charter requires all legislation passed by DC residents or the DC Council to be accepted by Congress. A Republican majority congress could oppose Initiative 83 and prevent it from being implemented.
Philip Pannell, the treasurer of the Initiative 83 campaign, said people should pray the Council “does the right thing” and enacts the measure. As the initiative succeeded with huge margins, the Council will likely support it, but the response from Congress is harder to gauge.
