CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Charlottesville City Council has voted to implement ranked choice voting into the 2025 City Council primary.

Under ranked choice voting, voters have the choice to rank their preferences versus casting just one vote. If no one claims more than half of the votes during the first round, the person with the least votes is eliminated until someone does.

The measure passed four to one, with Councilor Lloyd Snook dissenting.

“If we had three candidates for two spots and one person got 65% of the first-place votes, and the other person got 35% of the first-place votes, and the person who was in the middle who was everybody’s second choice, in a place where people are voting for two candidates, that person would win,” said Snook. “But in the single transferable vote scheme, that person would not win.”

Council then approved a $26,460 appropriation to execute the plan.