| Eileen Reavey | Rank the Vote |
Winning a ballot initiative or passing a reform bill feels incredible. Confetti flies, volunteers celebrate, and headlines declare a victory for voters. But passing the reform is just the end of chapter one. A different sort of grit, luck, and perhaps a little magic is required when the campaign banners come down and the hard, meticulous work of implementation begins.
Today, I want to share more about Rank the Vote’s focus on what happens after the win. That’s the point at which we transition from “pitching” the idea of better elections to building the infrastructure for an experience where voters can confidently cast ranked ballots, participate in open primaries, and gain fair representation. This means deep-dive voter education, candidate training, mock ballots, and supporting our state partners through the challenging administrative transition from campaign to reality.
More Momentum Across the Map
We are putting our money where our movement is. Rank the Vote has officially committed a $150,000 grant to our state partner, Grow Democracy DC – marking our largest one time gift to a state partner to date.
Following the overwhelming passage of Initiative 83, Washington, D.C. is gearing up for its first-ever RCV contests on June 16 in the District’s Democratic primary and a concurrent special election. This funding will directly power the herculean grassroots voter education, candidate training, and community outreach to make sure every resident in every ward feels confident ranking their ballot.
”Nuggets from the Field
VIRGINIA: MAKING LOCAL PROGRESS PERMANENT
Our state partner UpVote Virginia secured a major structural victory this session with the successful passage of SB 176 and HB 630. Becoming law on July 1, this identical legislation takes the local RCV pilot program (originally slated to expire in 2031) and makes it completely permanent for cities and counties. The bill also expands the local RCV option to town councils and directs the Department of Elections to establish a formal certification process for vital election tabulation and risk-limiting audit software.
UpVote Virginia is keeping the momentum moving by hosting an incredible educational event in Alexandria this Saturday
CONNECTICUT: HISTORIC COMMITTEE BREAKTHROUGHS
Our state partner Connecticut Voters First turned heads at the state house this session with SB 386, an optional local RCV proposal. While the bill ultimately ran out of clock in a highly compressed session, the campaign achieved unprecedented momentum.
☑️ Committee Success: The bill successfully passed out of both the General Administration & Elections and Appropriations committees for the first time in state history.
☑️ Coalition Expansion: The movement picked up major structural endorsements from the ACLU of Connecticut and powerful labor leaders, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
☑️ Targeting 2027: With a long session on the horizon and pro-RCV leadership steps unfolding in the Senate, the team is launching a comprehensive summer candidate questionnaire to identify and lock in legislative champions ahead of the 2027 cycle.
GEORGIA: WHACKING DOWN THE BAN BILLS
In a landscape where out-of-state lobbying interests are pushing signaling bills to restrict voter choices, our state partner Better Ballot Georgia successfully maintained the state’s status as a southern “doughnut hole” free of RCV restrictions.
☑️ Grassroots Defiance: When a last-minute restriction bill popped up, the grassroots team scrambled the jets, driving hundreds of urgent constituent calls and emails straight to lawmakers’ desks to keep the path open.
☑️ Ambassador Launchpad: Better Ballot Georgia is capitalizing on this defensive win to launch a brand-new “legislative ambassador program,” using the momentum to train volunteers to meet face-to-face with lawmakers in their home districts.
☑️ Visualizing Change: The fight built directly on the awareness generated by the team’s massive $75,000,000 sign stunt at the Capitol in 2025, which vividly illustrated the taxpayer dollars Georgia could save by eliminating the costly, low-turnout traditional runoffs for which it is notorious.
National Momentum Highlights
The cross-country footprint continues to expand with crucial steps across the wider ecosystem:
Maine: In a historic national first, the state house and senate successfully passed a bill to implement RCV in their own legislative general elections. While the expansion was ultimately blocked by the state supreme court on procedural grounds, it marks the first time a legislature has actively voted to adopt RCV for its own races.
Ohio: Organizers are successfully opening municipal charter pathways and building relationships with local governments in places like Lakewood and Cleveland Heights, while cementing long-view pipeline work in Cincinnati and Columbus, demonstrating there is a path forward despite a new “ban.”
June’s Busy Democracy Calendar
June is shaping up to be a historic proving ground for election reform across the country. Keep your eyes on these three critical execution milestones:
🗓️ June 2 – New Mexico: The Land of Enchantment implements its brand-new semi-open primary system, giving independent and unregistered voters the freedom to participate in primary elections without being locked out.
🗓️ June 9 – Maine: A powerhouse election double-header combining Maine’s seasoned Ranked Choice Voting system with its newly expanded semi-open primary rules to ensure every voter has a seat at the table.
🗓️ June 16 – Washington, D.C.: History in the making as the District officially conducts its first-ever RCV contests during the primary and concurrent special election, backed by our major grassroots implementation grant.
Eileen Reavey
Executive Director
Rank the Vote