In 2024, D.C. voters overwhelmingly approved ballot initiative 83 to open the city’s taxpayer-funded primary elections, with 73% of voters voting yes. But New York independent voters remained locked out in their state despite funding the elections.
A new SurveyUSA poll finds overwhelming majorities of DC voters say ranked choice voting was easy, support using it, and want independents included in taxpayer-funded primaries.
In DC’s first ranked choice election, tens of thousands of voters stayed in the fight after their first choice fell short—something the old plurality system would have treated as a dead end.
In this episode of the Independent Voter Podcast, Chad and Shawn sit down with Lisa Rice, founder of Grow Democracy DC and a leading voice in the election reform movement.
The DC Council says open primaries are too expensive, but the city's budget shows the real issue isn’t the price tag — it’s whether independent voters are a priority.
The DC City Council has refused to fully fund and implement Initiative 83, the semi-open primary and ranked choice voting measure that was approved by 73% of voters in 2024.
Primary elections in Washington, DC, are coming up in June. However, while three-quarters of the city’s electorate voted for them to be open to independent voters, they won’t be – because city officials refuse to make the switch from a closed partisan system.
According to reporting from The Washington Informer and WUSA9 (CBS), D.C. Councilmember Wendell Felder (D Ward 7) has withdrawn his emergency legislation that would have required the D.C. Board of Elections (DCBOE) to conduct a comprehensive needs assessment before implementing ranked choice voting
Back in November, DC voters overwhelmingly approved Initiative 83, a measure that called for semi-open primaries and ranked choice voting (RCV) in all city elections. The problem – the DC City Council has yet to fully fund it.
Alex Koma of Loose Lips @WCP reports that a significant legal battle over Initiative 83 (I-83) has been reignited after the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled on February 6, 2025, to remand the case to Superior Court
The first victory for election reform Tuesday happened in Washington, DC, where voters passed Initiative 83 to open primaries to independent voters and implement ranked choice voting.
