Virginia Code 15.2-705.1: Instant runoff voting.
A. For purposes of this section:
Terms Used In Virginia Code 15.2-705.1
- Board of supervisors: means the governing body of a county. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
- County: means any existing county or such unit hereafter created. See Virginia Code 15.2-102
- Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
- Voter: means a qualified voter as defined in § Virginia Code 15.2-102
“Instant runoff voting” means a method of casting and tabulating votes in which (i) voters rank candidates in order of preference, (ii) tabulation proceeds in rounds such that in each round either a candidate or candidates are elected or the last-place candidate is defeated, (iii) votes for voters’ next-ranked candidates are transferred from elected or defeated candidates, and (iv) tabulation ends when the number of candidates elected equals the number of offices to be filled. “Instant runoff voting” is also known as “ranked choice voting.”
“Ranking” means the ordinal number assigned on a ballot by a voter to a candidate to express the voter’s preference for that candidate. Ranking number one is the highest ranking, ranking number two is the next-highest ranking, and so on, consecutively, up to the number of candidates indicated on the ballot.
B. Elections to nominate candidates for and to elect members to the board of supervisors in a county operating under the county manager plan may be conducted by instant runoff voting pursuant to this section.
C. The State Board may promulgate regulations for the proper and efficient administration of elections determined by instant runoff voting, including (i) procedures for tabulating votes in rounds, (ii) procedures for determining winners in elections for offices to which only one candidate is being elected and for offices to which more than one candidate is being elected, and (iii) standards for ballots pursuant to § 24.2-613, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection E of that section.
D. The State Board may administer or prescribe standards for a voter outreach and public information program for use by any locality conducting instant runoff voting pursuant to this section.
2020, c. 713.