Statement on “Improving Voter Representation in DC’s Elections” from the DC Appleseed Center for Law & Justice

“Exclusive primaries” and “small plurality winners” are two of the biggest issues with DC’s elections according to DC Appleseed’s recently released report on “Improving Voter Representation in DC’s Elections.” In particular, the report highlights the problematic nature of independent voters—who constitute 1 in 6 DC voters—being barred from taxpayer-funded primary elections as well as of elected candidates not having a clear mandate to govern.

If passed in November, Initiative 83 would remedy both of these issues by: 1) allowing independent voters to participate in taxpayer funded primary elections and 2) utilizing ranked choice voting to ensure a majority winner.

“Washingtonians are all too familiar with not being able to vote in the first place and having their elected officials win without the support of a majority of voters,” said Lisa D. T. Rice, the Proposer of Initiative 83. “We know that there is a better way, and that starts by voting YES on 83 this fall.”

DC Appleseed’s report emphasizes that letting independents vote in primary elections will increase accountability, as “politicians are less likely to ignore unaffiliated voters.” Those voters would also finally “have an opportunity to remove the politician from office during the next primary election.”  

The report further contends that ranked choice voting “would solve the issue of candidates winning DC’s elections without a clear mandate [as it] reduces the likelihood of candidates winning primaries without broad-based support, and it promotes greater legitimacy and representation in the electoral process.”

In these final weeks, the campaign remains laser focused on educating voters about the benefits of letting independents vote and using ranked choice voting, as highlighted in the DC Appleseed report—and most importantly, reminding them that this is in their hands. Ballots will be sent to voters on September 30 and better elections are possible by flipping the ballot over and voting YES on Initiative 83.

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