Falls Church could be next Va. locality to take up ranked-choice voting
Is 2025 the year Falls Church follows neighboring Arlington in enacting ranked-choice voting to elect its governing body?
It's a question that will be answered in coming months by the seven-member City Council , whose members will have to address both logistical and philosophical issues before coming to a decision and setting the timetable.
And now, with campaign season 2024 in the rear-view mirror, it's a discussion that may soon be held.
"The City Council has said they want to consider it," Falls Church Electoral Board secretary Renee Andrews said on Tuesday (Nov. 12), as Electoral Board members were putting the finishing touches on completing tallies for the 2024 election.
Were the change implemented, Falls Church next year could use ranked choice to select the four Council seats that will be on the ballot. Alternately, city leaders could stick with the more traditional winner(s)-take-all approach for the time being.
To select its Council members, those casting ballots currently have as many votes as there are slots on the ballot (three or four, depending on the year), with those getting the most votes winning no matter how high or low their percentage of the vote. Under the ranked-choice format, candidates would need to reach a minimum vote threshold, which would vary depending on the number of seats and number of candidates.
The 2021 race saw six candidates vying for four seats; in 2023 , there were four candidates for three seats. Posts of mayor and vice mayor are not elected independently, but are chosen by Council members from among their ranks.
Falls Church election officials expect their current voting equipment would allow the public to rank up to six candidates in order of preference, where Arlington is currently limited to three.
Using powers granted by the General Assembly, Arlington officials this year held the first ranked-choice general election in Virginia history. Because Democrat JD Spain, Sr., won an outright majority of votes in the four-candidate field for the single seat on the ballot, it was not necessary to ramp up the ranked-choice machinery.
Ranked choice played a more substantial role in selecting Democratic nominees in both 2023 and 2024 , when it was used in Arlington County Board primaries. Unlike most Virginia jurisdictions, Arlington elects at least one member of its governing body every November.
In Arlington, County Board races are partisan affairs and Democrats long have been dominant, making Democratic primaries or caucuses often tantamount to de facto general elections. In Falls Church, City Council races are nonpartisan, but by convention and tradition rather than by law — Democrats or Republicans can use caucuses or primaries to select nominees if they choose.
State law gives local governing bodies decision-making power over using ranked-choice; currently switching formats is limited to boards of supervisors and city councils, no other offices. To implement it for the November 2025 election, Falls Church leaders would need to adopt an ordinance by mid-summer.
David Bjerke, Falls Church's general registrar, said that from a logistical standpoint, ranked-choice feasibly could be implemented as early as next year. Or city leaders could opt to hold off until the Council election in 2027, when next-generation election equipment is expected to be purchased, he said.
State law permitting a switch to ranked-choice would not seem to allow for a community referendum on the matter.
Council members previously indicated they would wait until the 2024 election was over before wading into the issue.
While Arlington thus far is the only Virginia locality to hold a ranked-choice general election, the Charlottesville City Council voted 4-1 in September to test-drive the alternate voting system during its June 2025 council primaries. Several other localities also are considering moving ahead with the idea.
Agreement between the Democratic-controlled General Assembly and Republican governor would be required to expand ranked-choice elections to statewide, legislative, School Board and constitutional offices. Winning any consensus in Richmond on the issue in a year that leads into a statewide election would seem to be a remote possibility.
U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) for years has backed federal legislation to use the ranked-choice process in congressional elections, but what was seen as a longshot even before Nov. 5, and is likely to be even more of one now.
