Who are the candidates for City Council?

Charlottesville voters will elect candidates for local and statewide offices in 2025. There are three candidates running for two open seats on City Council: Juandiego Wade, Brian Pinkston, and Jen Fleisher. The June 17 election is a Democratic Primary.

What does the ballot look like?

The ballot has two sides. The front side has traditional, single-choice races for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. The back side has ranked choice voting for City Council. Each candidate appears on a row and the rankings 1, 2, and 3 appear on the columns.

How do I mark my ballot correctly?

Mark column 1 for your 1st choice — that's your favorite candidate. Mark column 2 for your 2nd choice. Mark column 3 for your 3rd choice — the candidate you like least. Mark one box in each column. You can only use each ranking once.

Do I have to rank all the candidates?

No, you don't have to rank all the candidates. You should rank one candidate as your 1st choice. After that, you can rank the other candidates if you want. Ranking a 2nd choice won't hurt your favorite candidate. Your 2nd choice will only be counted after your favorite candidate has enough votes to win.

Can I rank more than one candidate first?

No, you can only mark one 1st choice. If you like two candidates, rank your favorite candidate 1st and the other one 2nd.

Can I rank the same candidate more than once?

No, you can only rank each candidate once. Mark column 1 for your favorite candidate and rank another candidate in column 2. You can't help your favorite candidate by ranking that person more than once.

What happens if I make a mistake?

Don't worry. If you make a mistake while filling out your ballot at your polling location, ask a poll worker for help. They can issue you a new ballot and destroy the old one. The ballot scanner at your polling place will also catch mistakes. For instance, if you accidentally mark two candidates as your 1st choice, the scanner will detect the error and reject the ballot so you can correct the mistake.

Ballot Examples

See all the ways to rank your vote here!

The ranked choice ballot for the Democratic Primary election for Charlottesville City Council on June 17, 2025. The ballot has three candidates: Juandiego R. Wade; Brian R. Pinkston; and Jen M. Fleisher. The ballot has a grid with each candidate on a separate row and columns 1, 2, and 3 for voters to mark their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices.

Charlottesville is using ranked choice voting in the Democratic primary for City Council on June 17, 2025. There are three candidates running for two open seats: Juandiego Wade, Brian Pinkston, and Jen Fleisher.

In a ranked choice election, you don't just vote for one candidate. You get to rank the candidates in the order that you like them: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

You can see all the ways to fill out a complete ballot below. Ranking all the candidates won't hurt your favorite candidate and allows you to help select the second winner if your favorite candidate gets enough vote to win.‍

Feel free to download and share these images with more voters! Seeing the ballot is the best way for voters learn about ranked choice voting.

Questions

How are ballots counted?Why is the City using ranked choice voting?When can I vote?Where do I vote?

If Wade is your favorite
and Pinkston is next...