ARLINGTON, Va. — Arlington County plans to continue ranked choice voting in two upcoming elections, including the general election in November. But are voters catching on?
WUSA9 hit the streets of Courthouse, Clarendon and Ballston to find out. We asked, "Do you know what ranked choice voting is?" For every 10 voters, we seemed to get around one or two who did.
“Maybe [Arlington County] needs a good PR campaign explaining to people like me what they are trying to do?” one voter suggested.
It’s a pretty good idea. We took it to the county elections office and County Registrar Gretchen Reinemeyer. She said the county is quite aware of the understanding gap.
“‘What is ranked choice voting and why are we doing it?’ That is the number one question the voters are asking,” she said.
Reinemeyer said it was a decision that county board made. To reiterate what ranked choice voting is, it works like this: Instead of voting for one candidate, you rank all the candidates from first to last place.
“If your first choice candidate comes in last your vote would be transferred to your second choice candidate,” she said.
Reinemeyer said the goal is to create more broad support for winners.
This year, Arlington County’s board decided it would be on the ballots for the June primary and November general election. However it would not be used in the presidential or congressional races.
“It will just be that office of County Board where you’ll be presented with that grid for first, second, or third choice grid,” she said.
As far as the knowledge gap, Reinemeyer said the county has done seminars, mailers, and has a dedicated website to ranked choice voting. But, the most effective messaging has come from another source.
“In a survey conducted after the last election, a majority of voters said they learned about ranked choice voting through traditional media sources like newspapers or local news reporters,” she said.
In the meantime, Reinemeyer said to expect outreach efforts to ramp up as we approach the June and November elections.