What ranked choice voting means for the count
For the first time, DC voters are using ranked choice voting in citywide races, following the passage of Initiative 83 in 2024. Instead of picking just one candidate, voters can rank up to five in order of preference on the June 16 primary ballot.
Election officials will first tally all first‑choice votes. If no candidate wins a majority, the last‑place candidate is eliminated and those ballots are reallocated to each voter’s next available choice, repeating in rounds until someone crosses the 50‑percent threshold. That process, combined with mail‑in and provisional ballots, means DC residents should not expect a definitive winner tonight.
Local election administrators and advocates have been warning for weeks that the timeline will look different this year: early releases may show only first‑choice results, with full round‑by‑round tabulations and certified results coming days or even weeks later. The change is meant to ensure the eventual winner has broader support across the electorate, but it also tests voters’ and campaigns’ patience in a high‑stakes race for control of DC government.
A high-stakes test for DC’s democracy
Advocates of ranked choice voting argue that the new system will push candidates to build wider coalitions — and discourage purely negative campaigning — because they must compete to be voters’ second and third choices as well as their first. Critics worry the added complexity could confuse some voters and further delay results in a city already grappling with trust in institutions.
Whatever the final outcome, tonight’s results will offer the first real‑world test of how DC’s revamped election rules function under pressure. As ballots are counted and rounds are processed, McDuffie and other candidates are betting that a message centered on safety, affordability, and local self‑determination can build the kind of majority the new system demands.
Washington DC Decides: McDuffie Calls for Patience as Ranked Choice Voting Debuts
Kenyan McDuffie ended election night in Washington, DC thanking supporters — and asking them to brace for a long count under the city’s new ranked choice voting system. This is the first primary where DC voters rank candidates instead of choosing just one, a change expected to delay final results beyond election night.
Speaking to a packed room of supporters, McDuffie opened by crediting family, campaign staff, and volunteers for carrying the campaign to this moment. He stressed that, regardless of what early numbers show, their organizing work has already reshaped the conversation about safety, justice, and economic opportunity in the nation’s capital.
“It’s going to be a while before we know the results of this election, and I know you all love that, but it’s going to be a little while,” McDuffie told the crowd. “What I know for sure is that there is no way I’m standing here without the time, effort, and commitment of each and every single person gathered in this place tonight. All the way to the end, we’re going to make sure that people understand that every single vote is going to be counted.
The coalition that we built, the conversations that we had, the vision that we put forward about safety, making our city more just, more opportunity rich, right here in Washington, DC — all of that matters. You showed up, and that will never ever change. The people of Washington, DC, have showed up in this election like I’ve never seen before.”
McDuffie’s closing message focused on bread‑and‑butter issues: investing in DC public schools, lowering housing costs, making child care more affordable, and protecting the District’s right to govern itself without interference from Congress. Those themes have defined this year’s mayoral race and underline how much of DC’s future direction is on the ballot.
