Action Alerts for Arlington Ranked Choice Voting
Here are two opportunities to help advocate for ranked choice voting for Arlington County Board elections.
(1) Register to attend Arlington's TiGER Initiative Virtual Meeting and speak in favor of Ranked Choice Voting for Arlington County Board elections
Wednesday, September 14 - 7:00pm - 8:15pm The basic structure of the five-member Arlington County Board and School Board, all elected at-large, has gone largely unchanged since their inception in 1930, when Arlington's population hovered at 35,000 people. As the County's increasingly diverse residents approach 240,000, is it time to expand the size of these bodies, elect them by district, or implement ranked choice voting? The Arlington County Civic Federation's Task Force in Government and Election Reform (TiGER) has been considering these questions. Members of the task force will join us to discuss the pros, cons, and open questions about these and other new ideas
Our Panelists: Allan Gajadhar, TiGER Chair and Immediate Past President, Arlington County Civic Federation Whytni Kernodle: Attorney, Co-Founder and President of Black Parents of Arlington and Steering Committee member of Arlington for Justice Tannia Talento: former Arlington School Board Member (2017-2021), community leader and advocate
(2) Register to Speak in favor of Ranked Choice Voting at the September 17th Arlington County Board meeting. Here is more information about upcoming County Board meetings and agendas.
Here are a few sample Talking Points:
Ranked choice voting is more fair because it requires a majority to win
It removes the "spoiler effect" of having three or more candidates in a contest
RCV rewards the candidate that reaches out to the most voters, not just their assumed supporters
RCV can encourage more civil and collaborative campaigns, and discussion of issues
RCV increases voter turnout and elects people that are reflective of the communities they will serve
RCV is used in many local elections, and some state-wide elections across the US
The median cost of implementation in localities that have adopted RCV is less than a dollar a voter
Polling shows that voters understand RCV and they like it
